Ninjas and Ramen, Oh My!
by AngelicLuna
Summary: Sayu and Yuki are sent spiraling headfirst into the Narutoverse out of their own will. Two normal girls, three annoying idiots, one world. Grab a bowl of ramen and get comfy, because things are about to get messy. Self-insert/OC/slight AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome to "Ninjas and Ramen, Oh My!". This is a collaboration between ChitekinaKitsune and I, AngelicLuna. This is our first real fanfiction so it probably isn't the best out there, but we're trying. We are not close to even being done with this story, having around 15 chapters typed at this point. This will be a very lengthy story and we will be releasing what we have so far as a test run. If you guys actually like it, we might continue the story. Though, if it doesn't really get any feedback, I really don't see the need to continue it. So yeah, if you like it and would like to read more, please review/favorite because it tells us that you want more.  
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**This will be a self-insert, mostly canon story of the original _Naruto_ series, though we will be changing the story line later on and implementing Shippuden elements, so we do recommend being completely up-to-date with the manga. So yeah, enough chit chat, let's get on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of its characters, rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Though, we do own our OCs.**

**Chapter 1: We're living a fanfiction?**

**Jenny**

Have you ever predicted your death or knew that you were somehow, screwed? I have, and it's not a "whatever" feeling. No. But if anyone actually thought of death that way, you must either be a recently released asylum patient or just a really crazy SOB.

The real thing that happens is that you get this weird tingly sensation in your head, but you try to ignore it. And, yeah, it's kinda hard to ignore when you're about 6000 feet up in the air, trekking up a steep and unstable path that looked like it could collapse into itty bitty pieces at any time. Yup, just two idiots who thought it was a good idea to go mountain hiking on a foggy, cold, early autumn day. We're not brain damaged or anything, but you could say some of the blame, possibly all, was on me.

* * *

I couldn't fall back asleep, and thought it best to take a little morning walk to freshen up. Not willing to go through it alone, I brought out my trusty blow horn. Sneaking into the dorm down the hall, I woke up my oblivious best friend of years, Susan. After breakfast, I had dragged her out onto the mountain trail that was just a little way from our university and we began our stroll.

* * *

"Alright, that's it, we're heading back down," Susan said in an irate tone. Really? After all the trouble it took for us to get here, we're not leaving after 20 minutes.I screamed a reply back over the wind, reprimanding her for such a thought.

"NO! Isn't this fog just GREAT! We can't see anything, and the wind is a _little _bit rough, but…it feels nice." She grimaced and shook her head, flexing her numb fingers. We're not wusses, a little fog and wind can't hurt us...right?

"AND, you need to get some EXERCISE, Susan. E-X-E-R-C-I-S-E. I bet you spent ALL last weekend marathoning Naruto Shippuden with bags of chips. Admit it, you NEED this."

Literally, all she's been doing lately is cooping up in her dorm and marathoning Naruto Shippuden episodes, cuddling with a extra large bag of Chili Lemon Lays.

A strong gust of wind passed by and we both shivered, at least I'm pretty sure Susan's blurry silhouette did about 4 feet behind me.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. No need to shout almost every word." The fog cleared up for a moment and I could make out a glare that was undoubtedly sent my way. "I guess we can go on for a bit more, but that's it." Susan relented. We continued up the cliff, boots crunching on the loose pebbles,the wind being the only other sound.

And then I did something stupid. A smirk pulled at the corners of my lips and I started screaming. "HA! I KNEW IT! YOU WERE WATCHING NARUTO ALL LAST WEEKEND! NO WONDER YOU NEVER REPLIED TO ANY OF MY TEXTS OR CALLS! I BET YOU WERE WATCHING ALL THE EPISODES WITH MADARA IN IT! YOU FANGIRL!" I then sped head first into the never ending mist ahead of us. That may have been a stupid move on my part, but it was either that or a punch to the face from my dear friend.

"Stop screaming! I'm sure everyone around here heard you, that is anyone that's awake at this damn hour! Come back here!" As if people actually live up here. I heard her heavy footsteps getting louder and louder and ever closer. I looked back, not aware of the tree that conveniently decided to grow right in front of me. Stupid tree, who put that there? Susan luckily noticed and grabbed my arm, jerking me down to the ground. A slight tremor jolted me from my thoughts and the rocks hanging precariously over our heads grumbled.

Uh oh. Susan's eyes shot open and immediately grabbed my stiff hand, dragging me back down the path. I regained my footing and we raced down the mountain, the rumbling growing louder by the second. Pebbles flew everywhere; a few smacking me in the face. No thoughts passed through my mind except _RUN!_

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw mud, trees, and rocks quickly creeping their way down the face of the mountain.

_A landslide. Of course, it had just stormed for the past few days. Why am I so stupid? _

The sound of rumbling and the howling of the wind wouldn't stop. Susan and I desperately attempted to outrun the incoming landslide; we were too slow and the landslide was too swift. The next few moments were all a blur. A mass slammed me against the temple, the force sending me reeling backwards and onto the ground, precariously close to the edge. Darkness slowly overtook me and I could feel myself losing consciousness, the throbbing pain shooting into my skull. I tried moving my hands, my feet; my body wasn't responding. Warm liquid trailed from the side of my head and into my face. My eyes shut as the light wavered, the world becoming suddenly ice cold. The muffled screams of agony coming from Susan were not registered in my mind.

And then the world went black.

* * *

**Susan **

_Where am I? _

My eyes shot open and slowly focused as I looked up, head throbbing wildly. The sun peering through the cracks in the trees blinded my sight and I reached up to shield my eyes. Why was I laying in some disgusting dirt? And why am I suddenly in a forest? Observing my surroundings, I quickly noticed something a few feet away, concealed by some bushes. My legs felt stiff and weak as I slowly trudged my way to the mysterious blob. Wait…

_Why do I suddenly feel 10 times shorter?_ I brought my palm to my face. This didn't look like my hand at all. It looked like...a little kid's hand. In fact, these were short, stubby child fingers, not the long and slender fingers I've been using for the latter of my life. A horrifying thought made its way into my mind. Of course, it was impossible, but it could never hurt to check… Right? Reluctantly, I looked down at myself.

This is not me. I mentally face palmed. No shit, this isn't me.

I was a child, no more than 6 years, dressed in what appeared to be dirty rags. My feet were caked in dirt and I was barefoot. For a second, I had forgotten the being that seemed to lay just a little further ahead. I hesitantly stepped over and pushed the green foliage away to get a better look. It was a girl, seemingly the same age. She had black, shoulder-length hair. The kid was facing over to the side so I couldn't get a good look at her face. I reached past her and rolled her onto her back. I was then greeted with an all too familiar face.

_Jenny! But another 6 year old version, still unconscious on the ground. What's going on?! We were… mountain hiking and then…_

_What happened after? Where are we?_ _Maybe I would find the answers to these questions if I woke Jenny up._ I shook her arm, trying to rouse her from her slumber. Her body shifted, and I was soon greeted with familiar dark-brown eyes. She pushed herself up with one arm and gazed at my face, with a tinge of confusion.

"Susan...? Is that you? What the fuck happened? Why do you look like a 6 year old?" Our eyes both widened in shock and we locked eyes. Jenny's mouth hung open. Did I hear what I just heard? Was that…

Japanese?! I watched enough anime to recognize it, but the main question on hand was...why could I understand it?

"Are you speaking Japanese?" I gasped. I also just spoke in Japanese, what's going on? Yeah, I spoke Chinese, but I'd never been taught Japanese. Jenny looked visibly shaken.

"What's going on? Why am I speaking Japanese? Why do you look like a midget? Where are we? Weren't we...running down that mountain?" Jenny went on a quick word vomit while I stood there, contemplating the answer to each of her questions.

But I didn't know the answers to any of them. "Uh, Jenny, I have no idea what's going on. Apparently we can speak Japanese now and not English and you look like you're a kid too." With this, she proceeded to look down at herself and gaped.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Taking a slow scan of herself, Jenny's eyes kept widening an inch a second and she realized that I had been telling the truth.

"Look, we need to find out where we are and how we managed to get here." For the first time after we arrived, I carefully surveyed my surroundings. We were in a forest-like area right off an old, dirt path. I walked out of the trees onto the path to get a good idea where we were as Jenny calmed herself down.

Right up ahead, no more than about 50 feet, was a large wooden gate. It was green and had what I recognized as kanji.

Hold up, this gate looks familiar. A thought shot into my mind. The gatekeepers, and the oversized mountain of faces peeking out from behind the skyline of buildings. Oh no, this isn't where I think it is, is it?

_We're in Konohagakure from Naruto_. I think I just had a brain fart. This is turning out like one of those cheesy Naruto fanfictions. We disappear from our world and end up reborn in the Naruto world. Am I hallucinating right now? To be sure, I slapped myself a few times and pinched myself on the inside of my arm. I noticed Jenny had made her way out of the trees and stood beside me. She seemed to have noticed that my skin was still red from previously assaulting myself.

"Hey, so… Susan. Ya know, that if you wanted to slap yourself, you could've just saved yourself the effort and told me to do it… I woulda been happy to help…" She even dared to bat her eyelashes at me.

I was too deep in thought to even process what Jenny had just said. The Narutoverse, why are we here? My instinct immediately kicked in and I knew exactly what to do. Jenny and I had talked about a 'What if...' situation like this back in our world. What if we were sent to the Narutoverse? What would we do?

The smartest thing to do would be...to talk to the Hokage. I started for the village as Jenny protested behind me, angered that I had ignored her little snarky comment. She wasted no time and soon enough followed me in stride, bringing herself next to me. We walked at the same pace towards the only people we could see. Of course, being the observant one in the group, I glanced at the Hokage monument to get an idea of what time period we were dropped into. Four heads rose up from the horizon, not five. No sign of Tsunade existed and the last head was of Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage and Uzumaki Naruto's dad.

"Hey, look at that." I pointed over at the heads. "There's only four heads, which means we were dropped off here before the Sandaime passed away." Jenny whipped her head to look at me.

"Sandaime…? Wait… so you're talking about…," She looked up and I wish I had my phone on me to capture the expression on her face. "OH MY GOD! WE ARE IN… NARUTO'S WORLD?!"

I facepalmed and shot a death glare, assuming she already knew from the gate. Also, she was being way too loud, as always. But of course she didn't recognize the gate. She didn't watch Naruto as much as I did to recognize the outside of Konoha.

"Hey, so do you think...we died in the real world?" Jenny asked with a straight face. I gulped, thinking the exact same thing.

"Well, if our situation is any similar to those fanfictions I read, then yes. We died and got reborn into this world." My expression changed into a demanding one.

"Now whose fault is it that we're here? Who was the idiot that wanted to go 'stroll' up a mountain on a foggy, early morning? Does that not spell out DISASTER in big, neon letters?" Jenny placed her hands up in front of her in an innocent manner.

"Hey, calm down. We're in the Naruto world. Isn't this what you always wanted?" I ignored her as we approached the entrance to Konoha.

The gatekeepers sat hunched over at their wooden post; they looked like they were dozing off. We strode up to one of the gatekeepers who actually looked slightly more alert than the others. By that, I meant he wasn't flat out sprawled across the wooden surface of the table. Jenny decided to ask the question that would confirm that yes; this wasn't a sick joke.

**A/N: So, that's the end of Chapter 1. We will update this story every other day if we can, so make sure to favorite and review, and maybe you'll get a delicious chocolate cookie as a reward! Flames will not be tolerated, so don't even bother. Thank you guys and this is Luna, signing off.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! I decided to release Chapter 2 earlier than I promised because I felt like one chapter isn't enough to pique your interest. This chapter will get into our OCs a little more for those who were slightly confused last chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of its characters, rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Though, we do own our OCs.**

**Chapter 2: New Beginnings**

**Jenny**

I took a deep breath and noticed the headband on one of the guy's foreheads. My face must have been quite a sight, as the man seemed a bit creeped out and Susan snickered beside me, forgetting about her anger from earlier. He was wearing the traditional Leaf Village headband that had the familiar leaf engraved into the center. Who could blame me? It looked like an exact replica! Not the fake ass one's I bought from Ebay that don't even look real.

Now was probably the best time to ask my question, before this guy called up for back-up on a dirty, grimy and not to mention creepy girl and her little friend. It would probably be best to act nice…

"Excuse me…," I cleared my throat and finally got the man's attention.

"State your business here, kids." The guy grew even more aware as I initiated conversation with him. For a second, I had forgotten that we were probably just brats in his eyes and hoped he would take us seriously in our current state.

"My friend and I here were just wondering where we are?" The guard looked at us like we were mental and proceeded to answer in a wary tone.

"You're both at main gate to Konohagakure, located at the heart of the Land of Fire, home of the well-respected Hokage." He said in a dignified manner, his voice full of pride. "Now would you children both care to explain where you each came from, why you are alone and… your appearance, perhaps?" He raked his eyes up and down our bodies as he said this. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Susan's crimson shaded face from the comment on our appearance. She ran her hands over the front of her shirt, in an attempt to smooth the wrinkles down.

I glanced at Susan with an urgent look. She would know what to say… We couldn't just say we were city girls from Los Angeles, California; the guy would think we were crazy and call for some fucking ANBU to deal with us.

Susan seemed to understand what I was trying to interpret to her and came up with a pretty legit story, as usual. She took a shallow breath and started on our sob story.

"You see sir... We both are from a small farming village right off the border of the Land of Fire and Kusagakure. Our village was…" She paused for effect. "It was invaded by local bandits and the whole village was decimated. Both our families were killed, but it just so happened we were outside the village collecting plants when the attack happened. We ran as soon as we heard the explosions and just started wandering around, looking for somewhere we could stay. ...Until we ended up here after days of trying to survive on our own." She finished and I stood there in awe, nodding after every sentence or so. She was always good at coming up with excuses on the spot.

The keeper seemed a little skeptical about Susan's little story, but it looked like he was going to cut us some slack.

"Hm… I'm not sure what to think about this. It would be best to ask the leader of the village himself," The man speculated, with his index finger tapping his chin. "I'll let you two in just to see the Hokage. Make any detours and I will have you both kicked out, understand?" We nodded. And that began our journey through the village to the Hokage's office.

* * *

**Susan**

"Holy shit! Look at this building here! And that! I recognize that from the anime!" Jenny and I strolled along the main street, admiring the sight that Konoha was famed for. The village was modeled after traditional Japan but with a more modern twist. It was exciting to see things like streetlights, bicycles, and televisions advertised in shop windows; and more technology that we don't usually see in the anime. It's, to say, weird, seeing all these buildings in real life.

"Hush! 6-year olds don't curse!" I glared at her, reminding her to keep her composure. She clamped her palm over her mouth and gave me a cheeky look back. Before she turned her head to look the other way, I swear I saw her mouth the words "_I fucking know"_.

God, one of these days she's going to give us away. In the distance, I could see the familiar red building with the kanji for "fire". Alright, almost there. Hordes of people passed us; I recognized many of them as shinobi from their headbands. A thought suddenly shot into my head. If we had to give our name, Jenny and Susan probably sounded incredibly fake and foreign. We needed a Japanese alias to go by.

"Alright, Jenny. We need Japanese names since Jenny and Susan don't sound Japanese at all." I contemplated the perfect name from the limited Japanese I knew. And then it came to me. "Ah hah! I will be known as Kimura Sayuri. You can call me Sayu for short." Susan was Hebrew for "lily" so it only made sense for my Japanese name to mean lily too. Kimura was what I remembered to mean "tree village". We are in Konoha after all, so it was fitting. I gestured for her to choose a name as we continued walking.

Jenny snickered and gave me one of her smartass faces, "Haha… okay then _Sayu. _Let's see… My name has to sound gentle, yet fucking awesome at the same time." I gave her one of my famous "you better stop doing that before I castrate you" faces. She seemed to get the idea, for now at least.

"Hm, I guess a great name for me would be Yuka...no…Yuki...close. THAT'S IT!" She clapped her hands together and I face palmed. First, the cursing and now the shouting. What's next? "Yukiko! Whadda ya think?"

"Hm, 'rare child'? You certainly are." I muttered the last part and luckily, she didn't take notice. "Sounds good; last name?"

"Yeah, yeah. I was getting to that. No need to remind me." She seemed to fall into a train of thought and I let her think. I knew what happened the last time I tried to interrupt her. I'll just say that I ended up with a bruised eye for a week.

It took her a few minutes before she came up with something. By this time, we were already approaching the gate to the Hokage's office, located in the administrative part of the Academy building. I recognized the tree and the lone swing which I remember Naruto occupying in numerous flashbacks from the anime.

"I GOT IT! I GOT IT!" she screamed into my ear. Right into my ear.

"So? What is it? It better be good because I think I just lost hearing in my right ear." My statement didn't seem to bother her though. It _must've_ been good.

"Namikaze Yukiko. And I guess since you have Sayu for short, I'll be Yuki?"

"Ah, plagiarizing Minato's last name, huh? REAL original." I muttered to myself. I hope that doesn't arouse suspicion. What else did we need to be prepared for, oh, that. "And, Yuki…" I changed my tone and expression into something serious. Hopefully she would get the idea that I meant business.

"Yeah? What?" She didn't look at me, but I could tell she was listening.

"You have to make sure, _promise_." I dropped my voice to a whisper and she had to lean in to even hear me. "You won't say anything, _anything_. Not one word about what happens in the anime, the manga, don't even mention it. The Hokage will most likely get extremely suspicious and I would rather not spend my time in Konoha in a jail cell."

"Sure. Sure. I got it. Promise."

"Great. Let's go!" We proceeded into the gate and walked in through the front door.

As we walked in, I looked around and then tried to initiate conversation with the woman at the front desk. She seemed to be busy looking through some scrolls and had her back turned to us.

"Miss?"

"Huh?" She immediately turned and looked around, seemingly not spotting where the sound had come from. She muttered to herself, "Great! Now I'm starting to hear things. There's just so much to do! Not to mention that I get the _honor _to do most of the Hokage's work…. Just because of that damned brat… _Naruto_." Her tone and face turned sour just by saying the name alone. I just knew one thing, I did not like this lady. Jen-, Yuki, I mentally corrected myself, seemed to agree, with her hands clenched into fists by her sides.

This lady, she didn't even have enough intellect to even see us or notice our presence, although it made partial sense as both of our heights only reached up to barely half the height of the desk. Still, did this woman have no sense?

Deeming it necessary, I tiptoed and balanced myself on the edge of the desk. It wasn't enough. So, I moved to Plan B. I banged on the desk as loud as I could.

The sudden noise seemed to startle the lady and Yuki couldn't help but snicker.

The lady looked around the room again, her eyes narrowing by the second. Finally, her eyes traveled downwards and spotted us. I could tell she was none too happy by our appearance and my sudden noise making. She clicked her tongue in disgust.

"Yes? How may I help you?" Her voice dripped with sickly sweet sarcasm, laced with venom.

"We are here to meet the Hokage. The man at the gate told us to go here." I answered politely; acting rude would not help our situation at all.

"Ah, yes. I was just informed a few minutes ago to be expecting two filthy brats." I kept my face calm, but Yuki seemed ready to rip the lady's face off. Not again. I got ready to send her one of my warning looks, however, she was able to cool herself down, which I was genuinely thankful for. It was nice to not be kicked out before we even got a chance to talk to the old man.

The lady noticed Yuki's sour expression before she changed it and this certainly satisfied her.

"The Hokage's office is right down that way, up the staircase, on the top floor and the last door down the hall. He is currently free. Now, would you two hideous things get out of my sight?"

Yuki's eyes grew wide and she was ready to pounce on the lady, but I quickly grabbed her arm and started for the Hokage's office.

It's decided; I hate this lady. And I didn't need to speak for Yuki, on what she obviously thought. Shizune is ten times more pleasant than this asshole.

* * *

We made our way down the quiet hallway, myself recognizing it immediately from the countless mission briefings in the show. We rounded the curve and the walls were adorned with numerous scrolls with kanji that I surprisingly understood even though I'd never seen them before. Yuki must've been experiencing the same thing and grinned.

"Hey, I understand that scroll! Awesome! I learned a language without any effort!" I chuckled and we approached the last door. I glanced over at Yuki and we both nodded. My knuckles softly knocked, wanting to be polite, and we were soon greeted with a hearty "come in!".

I twisted the doorknob and stepped into the brightly lit room. My eyes slowly adjusted to the sudden change in lighting and I saw where we were. Holy wow, this is exactly like the anime. And before us, sitting in his chair, smoking a pipe, was none other than…

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage. I tried my best to keep a straight face, but I knew the surprise was evident in my eyes. Jenny twitched next to me, not believing her eyes. Taking the chance, I walked up to his desk and bowed politely as a sign of respect. Yuki imitated me and we both stood up straight to face the Hokage himself.

"Ah, children. I've been expecting you. I heard you wanted to speak with me?" He placed his pipe on the table and gave us his full attention. I sighed inside; he was the first person who didn't criticize us on our appearance.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Please allow me to explain." I responded in a respectful tone.

"Go ahead."

* * *

**Yukiko**

Sayu repeated the same story she told the gatekeeper as I stood there next to her, looking out the window behind the Hokage. The entire village could be seen; the people looked like little insects scuttling on the ground. I was so fascinated by the village, I almost didn't notice once she stopped talking.

"I see. So your village was overtaken by rogue bandits? Hm, this is interesting. We have gotten no sound of this attack."

"Well, I think Kusagakure took care of the problem." He nodded in agreement.

"You are a intelligent child, young one. For being…?"

"We both are 6 years old, sir." An expression of surprise donned his features for a moment.

"How did you survive all those days wandering on your own?"

"Well for one, we ate the plants we collected and managed to find other fruits and roots to eat along the way," I replied for once, having not said anything at all previously.

"That is an incredible feat, especially for your age. So, you want to stay in this village?" He shuffled through a pile of papers over to his right.

"Yes sir. We have no home to return to and Konoha seems like the best place for us to live in. Also, we would like to become shinobi once we are of age." I peeked at her from my peripheral vision. Become ninja? Hell yes! I can use those flashy techniques and create clones to become my slaves!

"Alright, it is settled. I accept your request. You will be allowed to stay as a citizen. We just need to process some paperwork. Your names, please?" He removed two forms from a nearby pile and picked up an ink brush.

"Kimura Sayuri," Sayu replied. The old man picked up his brush and wrote her name in a few, clean strokes.

"Namikaze Yukiko," I informed him after he was done with her form. More writing. We stood for about 10 minutes offering our personal information. He finally finished and placed his ink brush back in its pot.

"You're good to go. I humbly welcome you to our village, Sayuri and Yukiko." We both smiled at each other and tried our best to stop ourselves from screeching in excitement. "Though, we still have much to discuss regarding where you will be living and living costs." Our expressions turned serious again.

"I would like to live in our own apartment. Wouldn't you agree, Sayu?" She nodded in agreement and we silently waited for the Hokage's answer.

"Hm, well I guess that's fine. You two seem responsible enough. I will arrange for a room to be prepared for you in an apartment complex. As for living costs, you two will each receive a stipend every month to spend on food, supplies, and clothes. And to answer your request to attend the Academy, you will be allowed to attend for the next school year."

**A/N: Ooh, Sayu and Yuki are now getting settled in their new home, Konoha. How will they fare? Find out in the next chapter! Remember to review and favorite, thanks guys!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm here with Chapter 3! Two _very_ important characters are introduced for the first time this chapter. I wonder who they could be... **

**Read on to find out! Thank you to Thoroughly Misguided for reviewing! You get a huge, freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie. *Hands cookie*  
**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of its characters, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Though, we do own our OCs.**

**Chapter 3: First Encounters**

**Yukiko**

After leaving the Hokage's office, we decided that we might as well go and check our apartment out and get settled in. When we arrived at the right building that the Hokage had given us instructions to, I was about to burst from our luck. I could tell that Sayu was on the verge of doing the exact same.

"Sayu, this couldn't be... _that_ apartment, right?" Her expression was one of extreme surprise and I couldn't help but giggle at her. She rarely made dumb expressions, and when she actually did, you just had to relish the moment. In a teasing tone, I mocked her, "Hey! Wipe that stupid look on your face!"

That sure got her attention, alright. "What did you say to me?" She realized that she had been in a deep trance and quickly regained her composure. "Ugh, never mind. No use getting into an argument with you now. Did you ask something?"

I decided to let my last comment go. There were always more opportunities to annoy her. What could I say? It was like my job! I swear, she acts a bit too serious all the time. I'm just her pressure reliever, to be honest.

"I asked…" And repeated my previous question.

"I don't know." Her face contorted with a expression of confusion. "It's possible, I guess. First, we should get settled in. Then you can do a little investigating. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah! Let's get this done quick! I have just got to know. This is killing me!" With that, I ran to our room on the 1st floor. Yup, this placed looked really familiar.

I counted the doors as I walked past. One...two...three…and home sweet home. I brought out one of the two keys that the old man had given to each of us. The key was slipped into the lock and with a _click! _it opened to our new home. I admit I was a bit disappointed, but I guess it would do.

My hands reached for a light switch and flipped it on. Soon, my eyes were scanning the green walls with cherry brown wood flooring.

I walked into what I assumed to be the living room. There was a low, round table placed in the center of the room with pillows, I assumed to sit on, set all around it. On the far right corner of the room was a low cabinet with a few books, one in particular caught my eye, it was titled "How to be a Ninja: Tips on How Not To Fail". I was definitely going to read that one night.

A small shelf was in the opposite corner was empty except for a few blank scrolls and four flower pots set on the highest shelf. Sayu approached a wooden door at the back of the room and opened it to reveal a small kitchen.

It was clean and relatively simple with tile flooring and a small dining table with white covers and four chairs. On a small counter was a microwave and to the right of that, a rusty ass stove. I checked the small fridge in the corner of the room and found only a few water bottles and milk that was most likely expired, as it made a sludge-ish sound when I shook it around. We would need to go grocery shopping soon.

Closing the door behind me, I exited into one of the two bedrooms. It looked exactly like Naruto's room, except there was one medium sized bed, cabinets, and a tv in the corner of the room. Sayu was next door, exploring her own room which I assumed to be the exact same as mine. I walked over to ask her a vital question.

I let her survey her room for a bit longer, before tapping her shoulder, asking my question.

"So, uh, do you think Naruto lives above us like in the anime?" Sayu's face lit up after this statement.

"Oh my god, imagine if he does! We need to go look for him." She grabbed my hand and we made our way out of the apartment, remembering to lock the door behind us.

It was settled, we would explore the village a bit more, make sure to visit Ichiraku Ramen and then stop by the market to pick up some groceries and some supplies. Also, we needed a change of clothes, ASAP.

* * *

On the main street, peddlers stood awaiting at the side of the street with their merch carts. We picked up basic supplies such as toothbrushes and toothpaste and other toiletries. A lot of the carts sold ninja tools such as kunai and paper bombs. We noted to remember to pick some up later on.

Sayu and I made our way to a ninja apparel store and hurried in, marveling at the different types of clothing available to shinobi. I made my way to a rack with tops while Sayu decided to first visit shoes, being barefoot at the moment. Within 20 minutes, we had both chosen shinobi-worthy clothing and paid at the cashier. There was enough clothes to last us for now. Before we left the store, the two of us made our way to the back of the shop, entering the changing rooms and changing into our fresh, new clothes.

I checked myself in the mirror and damn, I had to admit, I looked pretty good for what I was wearing. I'd settled for a basic outfit, as I was really too lazy to look and walk around the store browsing for something different.

The outfit was straight-up black and white, just the way I liked it. I wore a white short tunic and black pants that reached to just a bit below my knees. I bound a few bandages right above my knees and attached a pouch that I planned to store kunai in. The rest of my outfit was a black and white belt that went around my waist, a sleeved, black vest that stopped at my chest, black fingerless gloves, and to top it all off, black ninja sandals.

I moved the curtain aside and stepped out. Of course, Sayu took her sweet damn time and it was a full TEN minutes, ten I tell you, before she was finally done. Being the fashion fanatic that I recognized her as, she had obviously spent more time on her outfit than I had on mine.

* * *

**Sayuri**

Me being more into fashion, I spent more time picking my shinobi attire. Rack after rack was shuffled through before I put together the perfect outfit.

I wore a lilac-colored zip-up top with short, loose, navy sleeves. Around my waist was a thick navy obi. Underneath my top was a sleeveless fishnet undershirt inside which peeked out slightly past the collar. For my bottom half, I wore black denim like shorts and tall ninja boots that reached up to my knees. Under my boots were fishnet leg guards which reached to my thighs. As for arm gear, I had a pair of fishnet armguards.

I checked myself in the mirror before exiting the changing room to show Yuki my new outfit, who was long done and being impatient as usual.

Yuki's outfit was painfully simple, black and white being the only colors she had on. To be honest, it wasn't bad at all. I tried keeping my outfit as modest as I could for a 6 year old while still being stylish.

"What the heck are you wearing?" Yuki seemed to have woke from her dream-like state and noticed that I was finally done. "You look absolutely stunning…" I was genuinely surprised by this statement and it must have shown on my face. Yuki was amused by this and was even more when she finished her sentence, "...haha, just kidding. You look really ridiculous. Couldn't you have gotten something similar to me. Wait. Mine is an original, so couldn't you have gotten something that is not...that?" My face scrunched up in exasperation.

"What are you talking about? This is shinobi attire. If you actually watched the anime, you would know since the majority of kunoichi wear stuff like this." I retaliated, feeling perfectly fine in my outfit. "Unlike you, you look like a tomboy." Hah, take that. I spun around in front of the mirror and looked myself over.

My appearance looked almost identical to my real life counterpart, except I had perfect anime-like features and longer hair, which looked dark-brown instead of my black hair back in the real world. If only I looked as perfect as I did right now in the real world.

Yuki laughed on for a full minute and the store clerk seemed to think that she was scaring away any potential customers. He glared at Yuki, but she didn't register it. It took another minute before my accomplice actually heard what I had said.

"WHAT?!" The clerk seemed about ready to throw us out, but Yuki noticed his glares in our direction and lowered her voice. "What?! I will have you know that I look a thousand times more like a shinobi than you do." She let out a sigh. "I'm a bit tired now, so let's make that quick stop to Ichiraku for some ramen and then head to bed."

I silently agreed with her as I registered the sun starting to set. It had been to a long day and it was almost, finally coming to an end.

Before we exited, something seemed to have caught my friend's eye and I chose to wait outside for her.

As she came out, I discovered that she had exchanged her belt in return for a crimson red sash. It was tied around her waist and formed a knot at her right side.

The sudden addition gave her outfit a sudden edge, and I showed her a 'thumb's up' to show her my approval. She flashed back a wide grin, appreciating my feedback.

In a rush, we made our way to our next destination.

* * *

Ichiraku wasn't far away and I recognized it immediately; the small tent like restaurant, white banners hanging outside, the six stools inside against a bar. I desperately hoped Naruto was inside, it would save us the trouble of having to look for him elsewhere.

We ate dinner at Ichiraku, ordering a large bowl of miso ramen each, still having not bought any food yet. There was no sign of Naruto anywhere on our little expedition. We decided to head back home, continuing our errands and exploring tomorrow.

* * *

**Yukiko**

Our time in Konoha passed relatively quickly. We had spotted six year old Naruto a few times while out running around (which confirmed exactly where we were on the timeline), but still hadn't approached him to talk. He seemed incredibly lonely and we saw the looks he's been receiving from the others. To be honest, I was quite nervous to talk to him while he was at this stage in his life. Though, we had to do it. We had to be his first friends.

This day was a normal one, like any other. Sayu and I were out strolling, having gotten used to the village immediately. It was completely different from our home that was Los Angeles. Yes, it wasn't as crowded, but there were still plenty of people. There was a warm and cozy feeling Konoha had that LA was missing. You felt safe in the presence of Konoha and its citizens.

Anyway, we found ourselves at a playground for children. It was the one we found Naruto liked to play at regularly. Speak of the devil, he was there right now.

"Hey, Sayu. Look there's Naruto. I think we should finally talk to him today. The parents aren't here and the kids don't know about the thing inside Naruto, anyway. They won't have anything to say about us." I whispered quietly.

We figured the children had no idea why they were being told to stay away at this age, and only followed their parents' orders. It would become a different story in the Academy years though. People would look down upon Naruto and understand why the others call him a monster.

"He looks so happy right now, playing with the other kids. But after the parents come and pick the other children up, they shun him. Why don't we go talk to him?" I agreed and we headed to the swing set.

Soon enough, the first pair of parents started showing up. Kid after kid was getting picked up and taken home. Within 20 minutes, the only people still here were us and Naruto. Here's our chance. I looked over at Sayu and we nodded simultaneously. We flung ourselves off the swing and made our way to Naruto, who was sitting at the bottom of the slide. Sayu stepped forward and stopped in front of him. He looked up and looked surprised that we were still there.

"Who are you guys?" He asked in a quiet voice, looking down at the ground. His voice was filled with loneliness and I suddenly felt a twinge of pity for him.

"I'm Sayuri and this is Yukiko over here." She pointed over at me and I waved at him with a big grin. "You can call us Sayu and Yuki for short."

"Hey! We're new to this village and thought we should say 'hi' to you." Sayu bobbed her head in agreement.

"Oh…" A slowly forming smile on his face quickly disappeared and he continued, "Aren't your parents coming to pick you up soon? You shouldn't be talking to me."

"You see, we don't exactly have our parents. We're orphans…" I looked over to Sayu, wondering if I had said the right thing. She nodded, signifying that I had done alright. Naruto looked up at us with his big, electric blue eyes, in surprise. "So, do you want to play with us?"

Naruto's lips pulled into the biggest smile that I had ever seen. I had to admit that it was contagious, since Sayu and I had great big smiles, too.

"YES!" He shouted and started to jump around in excitement. "I guess I should tell you guys my name. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!"

"Hi Naruto, nice to meet you!" I said with a grin. Sayu did the same. "What should we play?"

"Let's play 'Ninja' first!"

I agreed to his proposition and Sayu didn't seem to have any problems with it. So, 'Ninja' it was.

For a full hour, we played Tag, Hide and Seek, you know the typical kid games, until we were all dead tired. Honestly, I had fun, and I could say the same for Sayu. Naruto probably just had the best day of his life, so far, and I will leave it at the fact that he was grinning like a mad man.

"We should be heading back home soon." Sayu stated matter of factly. It was getting a bit dark and the sun had already set some time ago.

The grin on Naruto's face fell as he realized that his friends had to go. Then, I had a quick thought. If what we had speculated earlier was true, that that building really was…

"Hey, Naruto!" I shouted, trying to get his attention.

"Yeah?"

"How about we walk home with you? What do you say, Sayu? Is it alright with you?"

Sayu had obviously already caught up to what I was planning and agreed.

"Okay! Let's go!"

With confidence, I grabbed his hand, and slipped my fingers through with his. He seemed confused and tense at first, but gradually relaxed his hand. And I didn't think it was possible, but his grin grew even wider.

Sayu silently trailed behind us a few paces.

We were about halfway back to the apartment when a figure breezed past us, obviously in a hurry. Sayu wasn't paying attention and the both of them ended up bumping smack-dab each other. Sayu and the mysterious person, who looked to be the same age and male, landed on the ground with an 'oomph'.

"Crap, that HURT!" Sayu yelled as she rubbed her temples. Naruto and I stopped to help the two off the ground. I decided to help the boy while Naruto offered a hand to Sayu. Sayu's eyes widened to the size of plates for some reason which I ignored. She had a look of recognition in her eyes. I shot a hand out to the boy who gingerly accepted.

Hold on, this boy, looks _awfully_ familiar. He got up and rubbed his forehead roughly, ruffling his black bangs. He raised his black eyes to meet mine and I suddenly recognized him. It seems Sayu was already one step ahead of me.

That black-navy, spiky, duck-ass hair, those deep black eyes, that pale skin. The one thing that completely gave it away was the black, high collared shirt, the Uchiha symbol displayed proudly on his back as he stood up. Hm, lemme think. Where have I seen this painfully obvious person before?

And that was the first time we met Uchiha Sasuke.

* * *

**Sayuri**

No doubt about it, that was the one and only Uchiha Sasuke, well, pre-massacre Uchiha Sasuke. You could tell by the lack of anger and emo-ness. I got up with the help of Naruto and walked over to him, who was in the middle of dusting off his clothes.

"Eh... I'm terribly sorry. I... wasn't paying attention." I stumbled on my words and I heard Yuki chuckle next to me.

"It's okay. It's my fault for running too fast. Are you okay?" Oh god, Sasuke was talking normally and not in monosyllabic answers. I nodded like an idiot and he smiled slightly; an actual smile, not his trademark smirk. Cue the fangirling. I admit, I was and still am a Sasuke (and almost any Uchiha) fangirl, and now I'm actually meeting him in real life. This is amazing.

"Let's go Sayu. I know you want to spend more time with your boyfriend, but we gotta go. I'm hungry, and I'm looking forward to some of that ramen we bought." she smirked and raised a bag that she held, which was full of 'Instant Microwavable Ramen'. The killer intent radiated from my presence and I could feel a weird rush of energy through my body. Is this...chakra?

Someone just kill me now with a kunai. From Yuki's laughter, her loud, cackling laughter, I could tell I had a red, hot blush on my cheeks. I took a glance at Sasuke, but he seemed extremely interested in the ground, his bangs covering his eyes. Yuki was gonna pay for this.

"Well, someone's anxious for her date with Naruto-kun." I retorted back, with a winning smirk on my face. Yup, 1-0 Sayu. Sasuke stood off to the side, witnessing our little exchange going on with a look of curiosity present on his face, signs of embarrassment gone. Naruto stood awkwardly behind Yuki, rubbing his arm nervously.

Yuki stayed quiet with a poker face and no reply. Although, I remember the last time she did that, when it was in the clear, she had punched me in the face. I hope she remembers not to mess with me; I can land a nasty kick that'll leave a bruise for weeks.

"Anyway… I guess we have to go now. Sorry again!" Yuki pulled me along hastily and I waved back to Sasuke as I was being dragged along, who did the same in return and turned to leave. I kept staring back, until his silhouette disappeared into the quickly-arriving darkness.

* * *

A little while later, we arrived at the apartment and Yuki relished in the reaction we got from Naruto that yes, indeed, we lived in the same building.

After quick goodbyes, we left and went down to our own room. Yuki seemed to have forgotten my previous statement about her and Naruto, and instead she went right ahead to sleep. I ended up doing the same.

As I drifted off into a deep slumber, I replayed today's events. We had just met the two main protagonists of _Naruto_ and actually conversed with them.

We actually talked to Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. What? All in all, it's been a productive day.

My dreams were filled with thoughts of two certain blonde and black haired ninjas.

**A/N: Oh damn, Naruto and Sasuke have arrived on the scene! Will Yuki and Sayu befriend Sasuke? How will Naruto's life be different with his two new best friends? ****Find out in the next chapter! **

**There will be a time skip next chapter, fast forwarding to the events from Episode 1 of the anime. So, prepare yourselves, because things are about to get crazy. Remember to review, follow, favorite; all that jazz. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! There's a timeskip starting this chapter, which will bring us to the canon events of _Naruto, _including the Academy, graduation, blah blah blah. Enough chit chat, let's get on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of its characters, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Though, we do own our OCs.**

**Chapter 4: On the Path of the Ninja**

_**Six Years Later…**_

**Yukiko**

I woke up with a start. What time is it?

I glanced with hooded eyes at the digital clock on the nearby nightstand. It flashed _7:27. _Great, I had woken up early. I threw my pillow over my face and waited for sleep to take me back in it's dark, warm grasp. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and the next time I checked the time it flashed _7:41. _Just great. I shoved my head under the pillow again, and just as I was about to fall asleep, my considerate roommate startled me awake.

"YUKI! GET YOUR ASS OUTTA BED NOW!"

"WHAT IS IT?!" I shouted back, my voice still scratchy, having just woken up minutes ago.

"IT'S TIME TO GO TO THE ACADEMY! HURRY UP!" Sayu's voice started to sound irritated.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? IT'S ONLY...!" I glanced at the clock again. "...7:43! IT'S NOT EVEN TIME TO GO YET!" I heard a scream of frustration and footsteps that slowly grew closer.

The door was swung open and there stood Sayu in her normal shinobi attire which she had been wearing since she was six, only going back to change sizes once she grew out of her original outfit.

Sayu decided to make her way into my room and to remind me that she was the one who had been waking me up for the past few weeks because of how convenient it was for the alarm on the clock to be broken and the time to be set _back _one hour.

So… it wasn't 7:43…. IT WAS 8:43! And school starts at 9! That's not enough time to get ready. This was just fucking great.

"Since you are probably going to be late, I'm off. See ya. Oh, and be sure to check your calendar." She turned her back on me and stopped at the doorway. Whipping her face into a smile, an evil smile, she added, "And, I left your breakfast on the counter in the kitchen. Sorry that it's a bit… burned. I remember you like crispy edges." With that, she slammed my door and I heard her light steps pattering towards the entrance, the sound of a door shutting resounding through the apartment.

I slipped out of bed and registered the fact that I wasn't even going to get to school in time, hence deciding to take my sweet time. After all, there wasn't anything major going on today. Iruka-sensei had mentioned something important, but I was sure it wasn't that big, or else I would have remembered. Probably just a quiz or something like that. I could always make it up later.

A glance at the calendar hanged on the wall near the door revealed today's date to be circled multiple times with 'urgent' and 'be on time!' scribbled around in red. Probably, wasn't _that_ important...

I moved lazily to the restroom and brushed my teeth, washed my face, and combed my hair, not minding every minute that ticked by. At this rate, I would be missing my general studies class. Good thing, I hated that class. It reminded me too much of school back in the real world.

I put on my traditional shinobi outfit; I had also been doing the same as Sayu, with changing the sizes every time I grew out of my previous outfit. Just a regular day. Walking out into the kitchen, I noticed not one, but TWO burned pieces of toast sitting on the counter.

"Why did it have to be today of all days that Sayu decided to be a bitch to me?" I muttered to myself, shaking my head and tossing the bread into the garbage bin.

Looking through the fridge and seeing nothing that would satisfy my appetite, I settled on my favorite 'Instant Microwaveable Ramen'. Sayu couldn't understand how I had managed to stand the stuff for all these years, but she obviously doesn't have a sense of taste close to mine and Naruto's.

A few minutes later, I had finished my ramen and decided that it was about time that I headed off to the academy. I took a glance at the time, the _actual_ time, and saw that it was 9:24. Adding on the time that it took to walk to the academy, considering that it didn't take long, I would be there at 9:40. It actually only took 5 minutes to get to the academy, but a little detour to grab a snack couldn't hurt.

* * *

I entered the wooden academy hall that led to my homeroom. Finishing off my dango, I threw the stick in a nearby trash can before continuing down the hall, my sandals _click-clacking_ on the wooden boards of the floor. I hope I wasn't disturbing any classes.

A bad feeling emerged in my gut. Today was just a normal day, except that I was 40 minutes late to class, but it's not like it was the first time. I was just a tad bit later than those other times.

Yeah.

Everything was going to be fine. I would hear Iruka-sensei's usual lecture on how it is strictly important to be on time every day to class, which I usually blocked out. Then, he would excuse me to sit down. Why was I even worrying about this?

Blowing all doubt out of my mind, I slammed open the door and soon regretted it.

Slowly, I registered that it was silent, more silent than usual. Everyone was in their seats as the silence grew even more. I spotted Sayu towards the back of the room, a smirk playing her features as I stepped into the room with a confused look on my face. There was something different about her I couldn't put my finger on.

Surprisingly, Naruto was here on time today and he shot me an amused look from his seat near the side. The whole class stared at me as I made my way to my seat and awkwardly sat down. This is weird; usually the class was so used to me being late that they don't even glance at me as I walked in the door and as Iruka-sensei yelled at me. Which reminds me, where is Iruka?

I slowly looked towards the front of the class and I swear you could've heard a pin drop.

Exactly where Iruka usually stood, was the Sandaime himself. My heart started racing and beads of sweat ran down my face. He stared back at me with a hard look in his eyes. He was not pleased. The tension was so thick, I could take a kunai and slice through it cleanly like butter. Luckily, he didn't say a thing. I couldn't ask Sayu what was going on since the class was so quiet. I sat with my legs crossed, twiddling my thumbs atop the shiny surface of the desk.

About a minute later, the classroom door was pushed open and there stood in the doorway was Iruka-sensei, clipboard clutched in hand.

"Alright, next up, Nara Shika-," he stopped in the middle of his sentence as he looked up from the clipboard, noticing me. Oh shit.

Holy fucking shit. This isn't what I think it is, is it? It's not today, is it?

Iruka, obviously registering my presence from the door, turned red as a tomato. I was pretty sure I could see the steam spouting from his ears.

"NAMIKAZE YUKIKO! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! YOU THINK IT'S OKAY TO BE 40 MINUTES LATE ON EXAM DAY? DO YOU NOT WANT TO GRADUATE? BECAUSE I CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN RIGHT NOW!"

I decided right at that moment to make a run for it, but that only made sensei even angrier.

"SIT DOWN!" I obliged and heard a few giggles from behind me. Giving the owner of the laughter a glare shut her up.

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU-"

"Iruka, calm down." All eyes turned to the owner of the voice, the Hokage himself. I passed the old man a grateful smile, though he didn't seem too happy that I was late, either. That ripped my smile away real fast.

"It's the exam today, and it seems this isn't the first time Miss Namikaze has been late. And although I believe in how important it is to be here on time every day, we are wasting time, so we shall let this slide. But Miss Namikaze, do know that if you are late again, your punishment will be in your sensei's hands and I can't guarantee you will be let off easy. Do you understand what I am saying?" All eyes tore off him and moved to me. I could only manage a single nod.

Thankfully, Iruka-sensei had managed to calm himself down enough to continue off where he was before his outburst.

"Namikaze Yukiko, come up please. I guess we'll test you now. You're next, Shikamaru." I hesitantly got up out of my seat and walked over to Iruka, feeling all eyes on my back. I hadn't even had time to prepare and it was time for my exam.

"Uh, sensei, what are we being tested on?" I trailed behind Iruka as we left the classroom to go to the one next door. My mind was dead at that moment, and I couldn't even remember what the test was from the anime.

"Yukiko, I told everyone yesterday, but of course since you weren't listening, I'll repeat it for you. This final exam will be on the henge jutsu." He slid open the door to the classroom and gestured me in.

The class itself had been cleared out of its seats and the only thing in the room was a long table at the front of the class. I walked in and stood in the middle of the room, while Iruka took a seat behind the desk. I noticed Mizuki-sensei was also present, seated beside Iruka. In front of them were rows of blue forehead protectors, bearing the insignia of the Leaf.

I have to get one of these by today. I have to. I've been training 5 years for this moment.

"Whenever you're ready, Yukiko. Remember, transformation technique." I nodded, getting into the proper stance. I performed the correct handsigns; dog, boar, ram. I closed my eyes and focused my chakra, making sure there was a steady flow.

Come on, you got this. Ninjutsu is easy for you.

"TRANSFORMATION JUTSU!" Three puffs of smoke and there appeared three exact replicas of me. I was on Cloud 9. Surely, I had passed. I looked at sensei for reassurance and he nodded and congratulated me, handing me a forehead protector. I took it from his hands and thanked him.

'Fuck yes, I'm a boss', I thought to myself.

"You know when it comes down to it, your ninjutsu is one of the best in the class. Your attitude needs to change though." Iruka smiled at me as I secured the forehead protector around my head. Hell yah. Finally, my work has paid off.

I was about to shoot him a snarky little comment, but remembered that he _had _been the person who taught me all this, so I gave him a curt nod and hurried back to class.

* * *

**Sayuri**

The door was once again slid open, signifying the end of Yuki's exam. I had faith in her; I knew she would pass. My thoughts were proven correct as she stepped in with a large grin on her face, a new, shiny, blue forehead protector secured tightly around her forehead. She practically strutted her way back to her seat, the students around her clapping for her. Yuki floated down into her seat next to me. Shikamaru was called up for testing and he left the room.

"Hey, Sayu." She pointed at her forehead protector. "Lookie what I got! I'm a genin now!" She had forgotten all about what had happened this morning that almost cost her the forehead protector. Yuki glanced at me and did a double-take. "HUH?! YOU ALREADY GOT YOURS?!" She pointed at the headband around my head, slightly covered by my bangs.

"Mmhm. While you were taking your sweet time, I was called in to take the test already. Of course, I passed easily." I beamed at her, ecstatic that I was officially a ninja. If you told me 6 years ago that I would become a ninja, I would've laughed at you and made a snarky remark about how 'this ain't the Naruto world, so dream on'.

"Wow, of course you passed easily, you're top of the class, right next to Sasuke. Well, no matter, because we both passed!" Yes, Sasuke was still top of class in marks. I trailed behind slightly, having great marks in every subject, just not as high as Sasuke's were in ninja skills. Being a 22-year old trapped in a 12-year old's body had its perks, though. Just as I was thinking this, Iruka walked in again. Shikamaru sat back down in his seat with a bored expression, a headband tied securely around his arm.

"Uchiha Sasuke, it's your turn." He silently got up with his hands tucked in his pockets and walked out as his fangirls screamed "Go Sasuke!" and "You're the best!" I scoffed, covering my ears to block out the incredibly piercing screeches.

Sasuke and I hadn't talked much after our little run-in, and not at all after the massacre occurred. Sasuke's personality did a complete 180 after that incident. It was kinda scary seeing someone go from normal to spiteful after a few days of not seeing them. To be honest, I much prefered pre-massacre Sasuke. At least he respected me in some way or another and wasn't emo ALL the time.

The buzz of the classroom started dying down until the next remark was made, thanks to none other than Namikaze Yukiko. She shot up out of her seat like a rocket and startled me, jolting me out of my thoughts.

"HOLD UP, DON'T YOU THINK THAT I FORGOT WHAT HAPPENED THIS MORNING, SAYU!" I sighed in response, hopes dying down. Please don't curse...please don't curse… "YOU FUCK-FACE! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? BECAUSE OF YOU, I PROBABLY WOULD'VE BEEN LEFT BEHIND A YEAR AND HAD TO RETAKE THE EXAM NEXT YEAR!" The class was dead silent as Yuki pointed at me accusingly, one foot on the desk in a ridiculous pose. I mentally face palmed as I gestured for her to take a seat. The Hokage stared at her and shook his head in disapproval.

Giggles erupted from the class and once again, the classroom was alive again. Yuki had taken a seat already, but you could tell she wasn't happy with the class.

Whipping her head around and surveying the class, Yuki questioned, "What's so funny, huh? I'm sorry, I don't see the joke here. Someone care to explain to me what's so humorous?"

Yuki's arch-enemy, Haruno Sakura stood up and grabbed the attention of the whole class. Even the Hokage looked up to see what she had to say.

"Hey, Yukiko! Why don't you shut it already? You sound incredibly obnoxious! Isn't that right Sasuke-kun?" The air had been so tense that nobody had registered Sasuke who had walked in and took his seat with his shiny new forehead protector.

He gave no reply, though it didn't seem to bother Sakura. She continued, "Ha! You're just as annoying as Naruto is, Yukiko!"

I have to admit that I was ready to retaliate, and Yukiko seemed more willing to attack with words than punches. That was when shit hit the fan.

"You shit!" Yuki rose out of her seat and turned to face Sakura. She even grabbed the attention of Sasuke. Nothing good was going to come out of this."You better die when Sasuke tries to stab you with his Chidori-OH SHIT." The class was enveloped in silence.

Shit. Shit. _Shit._ What are we going to do?! I sharply kicked her leg under the desk and yanked her down into her seat. I gripped her arm tightly in a menacing manner, sending her my worst glare. She had gone too far.

Sakura was speechless and even Sasuke looked somehow interested, his eyebrows raised as he glanced over with his hands folded in front of his mouth. The Hokage raised his eyebrows and asked, "And may I ask how you came to this conclusion, Miss Namikaze?"

Thank the lord, the Buddha, thank everyone that Yuki didn't just sit there, but instead came up with a quick reply. I had to give her credit, I would have fallen for it if I didn't know she was totally lying.

"Sir, you see my undying hatred for Sakura caused me to have a really, really vivid dream that her beloved Sasuke attempted to stab her with some jutsu called a Chidori. Unfortunately, she survived… That's where I got it from sir." Sakura gasped dramatically before huffing and turning her back on us.

The Hokage fell for it! I'm telling you right now, he freaking fell for it. He let Yuki off, on what he promised to be the _last _time, and the class returned to it's usual state.

Yuki slumped back in her seat and I cast her a glance, remembering the promise we had made six years ago. She didn't react to my stare, and I left her to her thoughts.

* * *

**Yukiko**

I mentally slapped myself after my little...big outburst. Sayuri didn't scorn me and just left me alone, which I thanked her for. The door opened and the last student, Naruto walked in, without a headband. Of course, I remembered. He didn't pass. Turns out I wasn't the only person who noticed Naruto walk in and whispering and gossiping soon filled in the silence.

Naruto knew who they were talking about, him. I got up to comfort him, but soon sat back down when Iruka-sensei came in. He congratulated all of us who passed; this made Naruto slouch in his seat even more, and then he proceeded dismissed us for the day, the children running out of the class to meet up with their proud parents.

* * *

When we were finally outside, kids hugged their parents, got congratulated, hugs were passed around, just all that mushy stuff. Without parents, I just wandered around and spotted Naruto at the tree swing. Before approaching him, I heard the conversation between two girls.

They were turned toward Naruto with disgusted looks on their faces.

"Hey, that kid is the kid. He was the only one that failed." She smirked. "Serves him right."

Her friend continued. "If he becomes a ninja, it's only going to cause trouble. Because he's really…."

"Hey, it's forbidden to say anything more than that."

I realized, that these were the same bitches from that scene in Naruto.

I was about to tell them off and just wait for a situation like when Naruto saves their asses from Pain and all those other motherfucking Akatsuki. Before I could, I saw Mizuki-sensei approach Naruto. They exchanged a few words before he left with Naruto. I was about to call out the traitor, but realized my promise with Sayu and I wasn't about to break it twice. Besides, this was for the best. How else would Naruto earn his headband?

* * *

Like the manga and the anime, the day passed and the next morning I saw Naruto brimming with enthusiasm. I asked him why, although I already knew the answer. Obviously, he had earned his headband. I gave him a gentle pat on the back and decided to treat him to a meal at Ichiraku Ramen. Of course, it was the cheapest ramen because Naruto ate like a pig inhaling food, and that's not healthy for my wallet.

**A/N: And so, Sayuri and Yukiko begin their journey as shinobi! What excitement awaits? What danger will lie in their paths? Find out, in the next chapter of "Ninjas and Ramen, Oh My!". Remember to review, favorite, follow, as always. Yeah...well, see ya next time! AngelicLuna, signing out. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or its characters, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Though, we do own our OCs.**

**Chapter 5: Unforeseen Circumstances**

**Sayuri**

Yuki and I made our way into the classroom for the meeting assigned for today. Yup, this is the day where we get separated into three-man teams. The only question at hand is how that's going to work when there are two extras graduating this year. There's going to be two teams of four, which may cause issues between balance. I desperately hoped that I would get placed on a team with Yuki.

Yuki sat herself down in a row near the back and patted the seat next to her for me to sit. There was still 5 minutes before the meeting would officially start. We sat there in silence while the rest of the class chatted to each other.

Eventually, distant footsteps were heard down the hall. It sounded like a stampede of bull were approaching and I braced myself for what was about to happen.

3...2...and...1

Ino and Sakura shot through the door at the same time, panting and screaming their heads off about who won their little race. I buried my head into my arms and Yuki glared at Sakura as she walked over to Sasuke, pushing Naruto out of his seat and sweetly asking Sasuke if she could sit next to him. Ugh, this girl. Luckily, she gets better in Shippuden.

Soon enough, a swarm of fangirls surrounded Sasuke, all fighting for dibs on the seat next to him. Naruto, finally getting back on his feet, made his way in front of Sasuke, standing atop his desk and glaring at him, noses practically touching from the close proximity.

Oh god, here it comes. Yuki side-glanced at me with a knowing look and we smirked. We turned back and focused on the events that were about to unfold. Naruto and Sasuke had a brief staredown in the most awkward way possible.

And then IT happened. This guy who just happened to be behind Naruto, bumped into him, causing Naruto to lean forward and…..kiss Sasuke.

It was one thing to see it happen in an anime or manga, it was another to witness it with your own two eyes. We burst out laughing, Yuki clutching her stomach as she literally rolled on the floor, laughing. Out of the tears in my eyes, I could briefly make out Naruto's and Sasuke's figures, coughing and hacking, trying to get rid of each other's spit.

"Naruto, I'm going to kill you," Sasuke managed to cough out.

"My mouth's gonna rot," Naruto said in between breaths before sticking his tongue out in disgust.

The girls, especially Sakura, looked stunned and confused for a second before turning into complete demons. Yuki regained her composure slightly afterwards, waiting for Sakura and the other fangirls to do something. Naruto, sensing danger, looked back and was greeted with multiple PISSED females. You could see the veins popping out of Sakura's forehead as she prepared her signature, nasty, punch.

Yuki, stood up from her seat, ready to defend Naruto. She unfortunately, was too slow and Naruto ended up getting assaulted multiple times in the face by the girls. Iruka showed up right afterwards, giving Yuki no time to repay the girls for their attack on Naruto. Everyone scrambled to their seats, Sakura squeezing in between Naruto and Sasuke before sending a nasty glare to Naruto, who rested his head on the table, his face already starting to swell.

Iruka gave us a short speech on how we were now ninjas and how the teams would work. I overheard Sakura talking with Ino, debating who would end up on Sasuke's team. Unfortunately for Sasuke and Ino, the pink-haired bitch does.

Iruka started to call off names and we both ignored all of them, thankful our names still hadn't been called. Eventually, he reached Team 7. Okay, this was it, the big moment of truth.

"Next, Team 7….. Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto was alerted at his name being called.

"Haruno Sakura." Naruto got out of his seat and cheered. Meanwhile, Sakura sulked in her seat.

"And Uchiha Sasuke." Now, Naruto was the one sulking and Sakura cheered. Now this was the point in the episode where Iruka would move on to Team 8. But I hoped, desperately for a miracle to happen.

"Also, this will be the first in a while, but we have an uneven amount of genin this year. So, Team 7 will have an extra member." Gasps and murmurs were heard around the room. Wait, only one extra member. I looked to the side at Yuki who cast me the same look. Now, who would be on Team 7?

"The last member of Team 7."

...

"Namikaze Yukiko."

* * *

**Yukiko**

I couldn't believe my ears.

"Just great!" I muttered to myself, "I'm stuck with the psycho pink-haired fangirl and his royal highness; the emo king. But I guess I got Naruto with me…" It turns out I wasn't as quiet as I thought I was.

"Care to share your thoughts on your team, Yukiko?" Iruka-sensei asked, obviously not pleased with my comment.

It turned out that Sakura had heard too because I saw her pop another vein in her head. She better stop doing that or else she might lose all her blood and die from exsanguination. Actually, I take that back. Go ahead Haruno! Pop another vein, will you? I wasn't sure if Sasuke heard but he didn't seem to mind, although he _did _seem a bit irritated.

"No sir," I replied, hiding my anger. I definitely wasn't going to survive without Sayu with me. This better be some kind of joke.

"Okay. Moving on, Team 8." My eyes glazed over, still not hearing Sayu's name being called.

"Next, Team 9…" Still no sign. Sakura and Ino started to bicker over something. Probably Sasuke. There were only four people left, which meant...

"Team 10. Yamanaka Ino. Nara Shikamaru. Akimichi Chouji. And for the last remaining member of the class, Kimura Sayuri will be the 4th member of Team 10." Sayu gaped, probably not happy she was paired with the blonde fangirl, the fatty, and the troublesome slacker, who unfortunately was blessed with abnormal intellect. Fate really was unfair sometimes. And yes, I had nicknames for everyone in our graduating class.

Sayu kept a calm exterior though knowing her, she was probably fuming on the inside. Iruka ended the meeting, assigning us to classrooms where we would meet our Jounin teachers, and then dismissing us for lunch.

* * *

**Sayuri**

Walking out into the sunlight helped me calm down, just enough not to explode. This wasn't going to do. I was _not _going to be stuck with Team 10. Nope. Never. I gave Yuki a look and she nodded. We'd had to be back by noon to meet our teachers. That gave us a little over two hours to have a little talk with a certain someone about our placement in teams.

* * *

We stood outside the Hokage's office. I thought to myself, remembering the last time we had been sent here. Just six years ago. It seemed all like a dream now. Yuki, thinking I was mental or something, decided that she would be the one to knock.

"Come in." That was the old man, alright.

I nodded to Yuki, telling her that I would be the one to explain our situation here. She silently agreed, knowing that if she did so herself, she would probably curse out the Hokage.

I started explaining immediately, wasting no time. "Yuki and I were placed on two different teams as extra members, though we were really looking forward to joining the same team. So, I was wondering if maybe the teams could be adjusted a little?" The Hokage studied us while puffing on his pipe.

"Hm, I see. You would like to be on the same team, yes?" He brought out a manila folder with a stack of papers enclosed. "Sayu, I do believe your presence on Team 10 will only serve to as a burden to the Ino-Shika-Cho formation, no offence at all to your skills. You are at the top of the class anyway. I had to place you on their team because it was the best course of action." He set down his pipe, blowing out a puff of smoke. The scent lingered around the room and I almost choked on the suffocating air. "So how about this? We put you both on Team 7 to form the first five-man team." Our eyes widened. Okay, four was already cutting it, but now five?

"Wait, what? Isn't five a little too much?" Yuki questioned, confusion written on her face.

"I was contemplating this back when I was arranging the teams. The uneven amount of students is a bit of a setback, but I was curious on how a five-man team would work out. Most of the teachers didn't feel as if it would be as effective in missions than a smaller unit, and I also had my doubts." He shuffled through the folder, pulling out a paper with the information of Team 7. "But, it seems like you two would perform better together in a team, not separated. Why not try it out? Besides, the Jounin I assigned for Team 7 is one of the most skilled fighters in our village. His special strength will be perfect to manage the five of you."

"If this succeeds, maybe we can have more of these five-man cells in the future. I do hope that this arrangement will be okay with you two." Yuki nodded, though her expression showed that she still didn't understand the logic behind his reasoning.

Well whatever, I was completely fine with it. Now I was on a team with Yuki, along with the main protagonists of the series. Somehow, the story was now twisting in our favor...

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm terribly sorry this chapter is a bit short, but I had to save the good parts for the next chapter instead of adding it here. Yuki and Sayu are now both on Team 7! How will the five-man team work out? Will Team 7 get along with the added two members? We'll see! Remember to review, favorite, and follow and the next chapter will be out in 2 days. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and the story so far. Anyway, this is Luna, signing out!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of its characters, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Though, we do own our OCs.**

**Chapter 6: Enter: Copy Ninja Kakashi!**

**Yukiko**

"He's late," Naruto complained while sticking his head outside the classroom door for the umpteenth time. "Why is he the only one late? All the other teams are already with their teachers."

"That's not important," Sakura huffed as she rested her face upon her palm. I stood in the corner of the room with my arms crossed, waiting for Kakashi to show up. This ass doesn't even have the decency to show up on time on the first day. Sayu was standing against the wall at the front of the class. Sasuke was sat at the table closest to the door with his usual emotionless expression.

Naruto suddenly pulled a stool from the front and placed it in front of door, wedging a chalkboard eraser in the gap between the door. "His fault for being late!" He jumped down as Sakura walked up with her hands on her hips.

"Hn, our teacher isn't idiotic enough to fall for a juvenile prank like that," Sasuke remarked coolly. Sakura agreed, calling Naruto an idiot.

Obviously, Sakura and Sasuke were about to be proven wrong when our sensei walked into the room, the eraser bouncing off his platinum hair and falling to the wooden floor with a "clank".

Naruto erupted into a fit of laughter repeating, "He fell for it! He fell for it!" Sayu sighed and shook her head while I smirked victoriously.

Sakura quickly apologized and feigned innocence. "I'm sorry, Sensei! I tried to tell him to stop, but Naruto-kun didn't listen!"

After picking up the eraser, Kakashi put his right hand on his chin. "How should I say this? My first impressions of you rowdy kids are…" He took a short pause. "You guys are annoying." With that, all five of us visibly shrank down in shame.

* * *

Kakashi took us outside to the roof and everyone took their places. Our beloved sensei sat on the railing, facing us, and Sakura sat to the right of Sasuke, with Naruto on his other side. I decided to take a spot up on one of the branches in one of the trees that were lined up in the yard and Sayu leaned against the trunk of the tree opposite mine.

"Let's see, why don't you introduce yourselves," Kakashi started as we settled down.

Sakura looked confused. "Introduce ourselves? Um, what should we say?"

Kakashi put out both his hands. "Hm. What you like, hate, your dreams, and hobbies. Something like that."

"Hey! Why don't you start first, Sensei?" Naruto asked with a grin present on his face.

"Me?" Kakashi pointed to himself. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no intention of telling you my likes and dislikes." That received an 'eh' and 'huh' from Naruto and Sakura. "As for my dream…" A long pause. "I do have a few hobbies."

"So all we found out was his name." Sakura mumbled. Naruto agreed with a "yeah" and nod of his head. We sure got far with that. Luckily, databooks were a thing in the real world. And, I had a feelings that I knew of Kakashi's "hobbies".

"Now your turn." Kakashi crossed his arms and nodded his head towards Naruto. "You first."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" He said with enthusiasm, fiddling with his headband every few seconds. He then ranted about his likes and dislikes of ramen then ending with his famous 'My dream is to become Hokage' line.

"Alright, next."

"I'm Haruno Sakura!" Well, shit. This was my time to shine. "I like...the person that I like…" She glanced at Sasuke.

I decided to help the girl out and finished her sentence for her before she could go on. "Uchiha Sasuke."

Unfortunately, she ignored me and continued, "And my hobby is…my dream is.."

"Being incredibly stalkerish with your partner in crime Ino-pig and marrying Sasuke and spawning pinkette and emo children that would make the Hokage run for it." Her ears turned cherry red with frustration, but didn't bother to look back to glare at me. Sayu's lip twitched and she bit down in an attempt to not laugh.

"And? What are your dislikes?" Kakashi ignored my remarks and continued on with a bored stare.

"Naruto." Short, blunt, and to the point. Naruto made a sound that resembled a dying animal. "And Yukiko," she finished, finally shooting me a backwards glare. I just smirked, which seemed to irritate her further.

"You." Kakashi pointed towards Sasuke who was calmly sitting with his hands folded in front of his face like usual.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate many things and there aren't a lot of things that I like. Also, I have a goal that I intend to complete. The revival of my clan...and the death of a certain man." The atmosphere immediately turned chilly and we all stared at Sasuke as he finished. Sweat ran down Naruto's face while Sakura was the complete opposite, looking like she was one step away from fainting from Sasuke's "coolness".

"What a dream." I blurted out loud, earning an annoyed look from Sasuke. Woah. It turns out that he actually has emotions. Sayu and I knew exactly what he was referring to. Hm, bad move Sasuke. You will come to regret this.

"Alright, you, girl in the black and white." Kakashi pointed up at me and gestured for me to start. I cleared my throat and prepared to introduce myself.

"I'm Namikaze Yukiko. I go by Yuki and nothing else." Kakashi's visible eye widened at this statement, and it took me a second before I figured out exactly why.

Namikaze. It was the surname of his former and late sensei, Namikaze Minato.

Surprisingly, in the time that I've been in Konoha, no one actually questioned my last name, save for a few eyebrows raised when I told them my full name. I concluded that there was a small family or a clan in the village somewhere that went by the name Namikaze, which made my life ten times easier.

I panicked, sending a distressed glance towards Sayu, who simply shrugged. She was probably going to berate me later for choosing this last name and say something like 'I told you that last name would cause us trouble'. I needed an excuse, and quick.

"Are you by chance related to the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato?" There was the million dollar question. My head shot up at his voice, having come up with an excuse.

"Er, I do believe I was a distinct relative, ya know...through cousins and parents and what not." Okay, that sounded better in my head. Kakashi didn't respond, only sending me a wary look before waving his hand, signaling for me to continue. "You don't need to know my likes or dislikes. Though I can easily say that the feeling is mutual, Sakura. I have no dream." The Uchiha seemed to laugh a little at that last bit. Much surprise. He could laugh, too. "My hobbies are of none of your concern."

"Okay, then. I guess you are last." Kakashi looked over at Sayu against the tree.

"I'm Kimura Sayuri, though I preferred to be called Sayu. As for my likes, I enjoy eating sweets and hanging out with Yuki. I don't have particular dislikes that stand out. My dream is to be a successful ninja. As for hobbies, training and drawing in my spare time." Sayu introduced herself confidently while the others listened intently. Out of all of us, she seemed the most normal.

"That settles that. All five of you have unique personalities, which I guess is good for such a big team. Tomorrow, we will have a mission."

Naruto jumped up at the mention of a mission. He mock saluted and questioned Kakashi eagerly. He continued to explain our mission, which wasn't a mission at all. It was survival training. Oh goodie, because we didn't have enough of those back in Academy.

"We had plenty of training back in Academy." Sakura read my thoughts. Looks like she isn't completely hopeless. Kakashi started chuckling in a really creepy way while Sayu made a disgusted, weirded out face.

"What's so funny?" I asked him, knowing the answer already.

"Well, you guys are going to be surprised when I inform you of this. Out of the 29 graduates this year, only 11 will become Genins. The other 18 will be sent back to the academy." The only ones surprised was Sakura and Naruto. The rest of us just waited for him to continue.

"Hm, I was hoping more of you would be surprised..." Naruto started ranting about the final exam while Kakashi proceeded to explain the survival test.

"Bring your ninja gear and meet up at 5 A.M at the training grounds." Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura started trembling. "Meeting adjourned. Oh, and don't eat breakfast. You're going to hurl if you do." I was waiting for that. Sayu only let out a dry laugh. Don't eat? Yeah, right. We're not falling for that. With that, Kakashi disappeared with a poof of smoke.

* * *

It was early. Much too early. Sayu made sure our alarms were set for 4 A.M sharp and then made it her job to barge into my room to make sure I was awake. I don't think I've ever been up this early.

After eating breakfast instead of being idiots, we made our way to the training grounds along with a very groggy looking Naruto trailing behind us. He looked like he was about to pass out any second, as well as I.

The sun wasn't even up in the sky yet. Sayu took the lead, her bag slung on one shoulder and her katana sheathed on her back.

It had been my graduation gift for her, and she gratefully accepted. A wolf had been added to fit all around the hilt and there were wisps of red flames surrounding the opening of the sheath. I thought it was the best fit for my best friend, since a wolf was her favorite animal and the fire represented her fierce personality.

In return, she had given me a dozen set of special kunai. At the hilt, there was a tied paper seal with the kanji 'Return' scribbled down neatly in black ink. Sayu explained to me that if I ever lost one of the kunai or just wanted to get it back easily, I could just summon it back. Honestly, it had been an extremely helpful feature when training and would most likely be, too in a real battle.

A feature that stood out the most was that the blade ends of the kunai looked like _exact_ replicas of Namikaze Minato's kunai in the anime/manga, which only further fueled my excuse for Kakashi that I was related to the Fourth. When I questioned this, Sayu told me nothing besides that fact that she had found them on a normal street vendor, and she thought it was meaningful and a good reference, taking into consideration my last name. Okay, if she wanted to keep the mysterious vibe going, it was fine with me. It just made the kunai even more badass.

The last and final detail was the very best. On her way home, Sayu had discovered a new shop that specialized in potions and poisons. After a little bit of browsing, she had found a poison that the clerk explained would "hinder the spread of chakra temporarily, and leave just enough time to deal a significant amount of damage or land the killing blow". She bought a large number of vials and wrapped them up with the kunai.

After finding about all of my kunai's capabilities, I had suffocated Sayu in a million hugs and surprised her with more thank-you's than one could ever say in a lifetime.

* * *

Coming back into reality, I patted the pouch that held my kunai and made sure that the two vials that I kept zipped on the side were stuck there securely. The poison wasn't the priciest on the market, but it wasn't the cheapest either, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

Back to observing my best friend, she didn't look tired at all. Knowing her, she was probably ecstatic for some action. We neared the intersection and encountered both Sasuke and Sakura. Perfect timing. Now for Kakashi, who I expected to be late. We should've just come later knowing Kakashi, but of course someone had to be exactly on time.

And there we waited, for probably a whole 6 hours. After only 30 minutes, our bags were thrown on the ground and Naruto decided to take a much needed nap against a trunk of a tree. I decided to take a spot beside Naruto, ending up shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Unhesitantly, I lay my head comfortably on Naruto's left shoulder. This alarmed Naruto awake, but upon realizing who the heck was putting part of their body weight on him, he just gave a brief grin before going back to sleep. What could I say? We were just this close.

Sayu sat herself on the grass and buried her head into her knees while Sasuke stood dutifully throughout the whole wait. An hour passed, and Sakura joined Sayu on the grass, who was slowly drifting off. At this point, the sun was high in the sky, we were all knocked out, spare Sasuke, and still no sign of Kakashi.

Finally, after who knows how long, Kakashi decides to show up. Ya know, like nothing important was scheduled for today. I was already awake at this point after a nice long nap. I made my way over to the rest of the gang as Kakashi approached.

"Hey fellows, good morning," Kakashi greeted casually. Good fucking morning to you too, asshole.

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura simultaneously accused. I offered a death glare and killer intent radiated off of Sayu's presence. Then came one of Kakashi's famous excuses which nobody believed.

"Well, let's move on." Kakashi walked over to the stump and placed down an alarm clock. "Clock set for 12 P.M." And there came the bells out from his pocket. Instead of two, there were four. Which meant one person wouldn't get one.

"Today's exercise is to get one of these bells from me." The bells jingled in the wind as our eyes were fixed to them. "Whoever doesn't get one will not eat lunch and will be tied up to one of those posts there while I eat in front of you." Everyone's stomach growled at this statement except mine and Sayu's. Hm, it was a good thing we had thought ahead. Perks of watching the anime are sweet!

"Hold on, why are there only four bells?" Are you serious, Sakura? And to think this girl is supposed to be one of the smart ones in our graduating class. Sayu rolled her eyes.

"There are four because one person will be tied to a log. That person will be sent back to Academy. It might be one, or all three." He continued to explain the rules, telling us what to do.

"Yeah, we're against the teacher who couldn't avoid a chalkboard eraser." Naruto bragged in reply to something Sakura said, which I naturally tuned out.

"In society, the ones with the least skills complain more. Ignore the idiot." Naruto fumed at this insult. God, sometimes I really hate Kakashi, despite being a pretty cool person later on.

Naruto charged ahead, kunai in hand and raised in the air, ready to strike. Predicting this move, Kakashi grabbed his hand and stopped him in one fluid motion; it was so fast, we couldn't even see what happened. He then twisted Naruto's arm, pinned his hand and aimed the blade directly against the back of his head. Everyone looked shocked. Don't underestimate Kakashi, another perk of knowing what happens.

"Looks like you guys are ready to kill me. I guess I can finally start liking you guys. Now, we're going to start." All five of us immediately got into the ready position.

"Ready, start!" With this, all of us scattered into our hiding spots.

* * *

**Sayuri**

After the start command, we all separated and made our way to our own hiding spots. I found a decent place behind a few bushes where I could still spot Kakashi through the cracks in the foliage.

Basics of being a ninja, step 1; conceal your presence and hide. I concealed my chakra and lowered into a crawl. But of course, there was one person who couldn't follow even that basic rule.

"Hey, let's fight fair and square!" Kakashi looked puzzled as Naruto stood before him, no more than a few feet away. I sighed. This isn't going to go well judging from the anime. And we're probably not going to get any bells, just like the anime. But there was nothing to worry about. I could literally do nothing and we would still pass with "teamwork".

Naruto charged head on and stopped short of Kakashi as he pulled out an orange book. _Icha Icha Paradise _graced the front cover.

"Hey, why'd you take out a book?"

"Because I want to know how the plot advances. Don't mind me, it won't make a difference." This riled Naruto up as he went in for a punch. Then a kick. All blocked or avoided. And then came one of my favorite memories in the series. A shout of warning from Sakura came from a few bushes away. Too late though.

"ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN!" With that, Naruto went flying into the air and shot into the water. Ugh, that looked uncomfortable as hell. I'm sure Yuki was laughing her ass off somewhere in a tree right now. Soon enough, two shuriken whizzed through the air from the direction of the water which then landed around Kakashi's fingers like some ring toss game at the carnival. Naruto emerged out of the water, coughing for air. That's when the real action began.

Like I predicted, multiple shadow clones shot up out of the water and grabbed onto Kakashi, one straddling his back. But of course, Kakashi used replication which Naruto somehow didn't get the concept of and started abusing himself to look for "Kakashi". Great job, Naruto. You look real cool.

* * *

After about 10 minutes of just laying on the ground watching the events unfold, I was getting antsy and my legs were going numb. I just wanted to head into the open and start attacking, but it wasn't time yet. This was of course part of basics of being a ninja; part 2, bid your time and wait for the right opportunity to strike.

Naruto got caught in a trap and Sasuke launched a barrage of weapons which appeared to impale Kakashi, but it was another substitution. I sighed quietly. Now the others' locations were revealed. I chose to stay put, knowing what was going to happen next.

A scream was heard not too far off which could only be from Sakura. She's trapped in a genjutsu, Naruto's still tied up, and Sasuke was engaged in battle with the real Kakashi. Yuki and I just had to wait for our moment to strike. After Sasuke becomes trapped underground, that's when. We had planned this out already. A shout was heard, this time from Sasuke. Almost…

I got up from my position on the ground and leaped through the trees, towards the source of Sasuke's shout. I could see Yuki approaching from the other side. Plan initiated. It's almost time to carry out the attack. Yuki landed on the branch above me and we watched as Kakashi got up from talking to Sasuke, well his head, that is. I smirked at the sight of Sasuke's head poking out from the ground like a groundhog. Kakashi straightened up and casually turned his head toward our direction. Shit, he knew.

"Ah, finally, you two girls come out from hiding. Looks like you've been planning, no?" He leaped away from Sasuke as he addressed our presence.

"NOW!" I shouted towards Yuki and we both leapt out from our perch in the tree. We landed on either side of him, ready to go through with Plan A. We simultaneously formed the correct hand seals for our jutsu. They were pretty much the only combat-worthy jutsu we knew from reading up on jutsu books, but we have been honing them for years.

"Water Style: Great Rampaging Wave Jutsu!" I screamed out, the wall of water rising from the river behind me and charging forwards.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough Jutsu!" Yuki yelled from the other side of Kakashi, and a gust of wind shot out from nowhere. Both jutsu started closing in on Kakashi and we both jumped up to get out of the way. Sasuke looked on from his little hidey-hole in the ground in awe. Heck yeah, watch and learn, Uchiha.

I predicted Kakashi's next move so we were already one step ahead. He jumped up just as the two jutsu collided, sending sparkling water droplets flying. Instead of being in the clear, he was greeted with the sight of Yuki and I charging again from both sides, wielding a kunai and a katana respectively. Both of our free hands were reached out, aiming for one of the bells on either side of Kakashi. Almost there. My fingertips brushed one of the bells on his right side and they jingled lightly as Kakashi turned away just in time. Shit, so close.

It seems the same thing happened to Yuki, who gritted her teeth in frustration and gripped her kunai tightly to stab Kakashi. We both impaled Kakashi with our weapons, though he was clearly going to use a substitution again. Like I thought, he puffed away, a log in his place.

And then he would appear below us and prepare to attack us as we landed, if we actually didn't have clones awaiting Kakashi, that is. Our clones charged as soon as Kakashi poofed back on the ground, a look of surprise clear on his face. While Kakashi was distracted by the clones, we dropped down from the sky, weapons aimed directly for Kakashi without hesitation.

What we didn't expect was him grabbing both our weapons, spinning us around, and then proceeding to toss us in opposite directions while roundhouse kicking both our clones in the gut, making them disappear. Ouch. It happened so fast, we didn't have time to react. We were sent flying through the air and into the ground. For the record, dirt does not taste good.

"Shit, our plan didn't work." Yuki lamented as she picked herself up off the ground, a trail of blood making its way down her chin. She did the proper hand sign and sighed out 'modoru', before her kunai that had been embedded into a tree reappeared back into her hand and she shoved it in her pouch.

"I had a feeling it wouldn't be enough." I got up and patted the dirt off my clothes, wincing from the sharp pain shooting through my left arm, which I ungracefully landed on. Even after all our hard work, we didn't get a bell. I picked up my fallen katana a few feet away and sheathed it.

"You girls really are something else. Sayu and Yuki, you two are the first people I've tested who actually used teamwork and cooperated with each other. You still haven't gotten a bell, but I wouldn't say your efforts were wasted." Yuki and I grinned at this statement. Yes, Kakashi just praised us. Sasuke looked on from nearby with an almost amazed look on his face. Better yet, we had impressed the great Uchiha Sasuke. "I'm also amazed at the fact that the three of you, Sasuke included," he pointed to the head jutting out of the ground. "Know how to use elemental based jutsu. Where did you two learn?"

"We found out our affinity from one of those chakra papers and then studied up on jutsu from books. It really pays off to read and train to get a head start on others." I replied with a prideful look.

"Hm, I thought as much. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another matter to attend to." I had a feeling I knew what, or rather, who Kakashi had to attend to. Not a second passed before Kakashi pulled his book out and flickered away as we were left in the aftermath of our scuffle to recover.

**A/N: Ah, a longer chapter to make up for the last! I hope you liked the dynamics between the team so far and the small battle that took place towards the end, displaying some of Yuki and Sayu's powers. I have to say, this chapter was probably one of the most fun to write, especially the team meeting at the beginning. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as we did while writing it! Please review, favorite, and follow, and I will see you guys in another two days for the next chapter. See ya!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of its characters, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Though, we do own our OCs.**

**Chapter 7: Looks Like We Aren't Scum**

**Yukiko**

After Kakashi puffed away, probably to bust Naruto preparing to eat all the bentos, I hovered behind Sasuke while Sayu decided to stand in front of the Uchiha.

"Hey Sasuke!" I whisper-yelled into his ear, in an attempt to piss him off.

"Hn."

"How do ya feel to be bested by girls? Eh?"

"Hn."

"Is 'hn' all you say? Seriously, even in the anime…" Sayu's eyes grew wide at that, and I immediately started coughing like crazy.

"You okay, Yuki?" Sayu asked, not a tad-bit concerned.

"Haha. Of course. Just a little….tickle in my throat. That's all." I started to chuckle it off. Sasuke was most likely thinking I was a bit on the loopy side, as he shot me a weird look.

"So, back to my previous question, is 'hn' all you say, Sasuke?"

"Hn." I'll take that as a yes.

"Are you doing this just to annoy me? Ugh, you're a piece of crap, Uchiha."

Before I could annoy the rich boy any longer, Sakura sprinted out of some nearby bushes, pink hair flailing in the wind.

When she spotted Sasuke, her skin turned so pale, she could've been a relative to Edward Cullen.

"S-Sasuke-kun…" She gasped out, eyes bulging out of their sockets.

"Sakura?" Sasuke took a glance at her, seemingly embarrassed about his current state.

Then the pinkette fainted right then and there.

Sayu, being the goody-goody, decided to try to rouse Sakura with a few nudges here and there and the occasional call of her name.

Maybe I should help a little.

I stepped over and screamed into her ear.

"HEY SAKURA STALKER PERVERT HARUNO. WAKE UP. RISE AND SHINE. IT'S A NEW DAY."

My shouting didn't seem to help the situation so I left Sayu to continue her attempts while I made my way over to Sasuke and sat down with my legs crossed in front of him.

Hence, the glaring contest started. I had just innocently started glaring at the Uchiha, and to my surprise I might add, after a few tense seconds, he started to glare _back. _

A few more minutes had passed and getting tired of the little charade I had started, I got up and let Sasuke take his silent victory. And was that a _smirk _I saw on his features when I turned my back on him? It better not have been, or else hell was to pay. Fucking Uchiha.

* * *

Eventually, and unfortunately, Sasuke's little stalker woke up and was in a panic again when she saw Sasuke's, according to her, severed head.

"Sasuke-kun! What happened?!" She hurried over towards him, Sayu crouching over to the right of him as she probably contemplated how to get him out.

I stepped over to block her path and spat out, "Calm your hormones, pervert. He's just stuck in the dirt after Kakashi totally owned him." Sasuke grimaced and looked away.

"What?! I am NOT a pervert! I was just worrying about Sasuke-kun…that's all." And would you believe it, she was turning a bright shade of tomato red. Sayu trudged over to calm us down, placing a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to get me to stop.

"Eh? Stop blushing. You're just digging yourself deeper, Haruno." I peered over my shoulder and to my surprise, noticed that Sasuke had gotten himself out of the hole. What the heck? How was that even possible?

Sakura, seemed to acknowledge this fact, and stepped around me, forgetting my previous statement. Oh hell no, she wasn't just going to ignore me.

"Oh, and Sakura…." She continued to ignore me. Okay, if she wanted to play this game, I'm ready for a home run. "You should stop calling Sasuke 'Sasuke-kun' because you two are never going to be that damn close to each other. But, I guess you feel that way from all the stalking you have been doing. Watching Sasuke-kun sleep, watching Sasuke-kun eat, watching Sasuke-kun take a shower, watching Sasuke-kun undress…just watching. What a p-e-r-v-e-r-t."

Sayu made a "cut it out" motion, which I promptly disregarded. Though, even she looked amused, a smirk gracing her face soon afterwards.

Sakura paused and I could literally see steam erupting out of her ears, which were turning a nice shade of crimson. Sasuke looked about ready to just walk off.

Finally, I decided to take notice that my stomach was dying from all that chakra I had previously used. It's been way too long since our breakfast. I needed to EAT something.

"Hn. I'm going to find Kakashi and get that bell." Sasuke took a few steps forward before Sakura stopped him.

"Eh? What for? We're never getting one so might as well give up." Sasuke halted abruptly, and I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to kill him." The wind ominously picked up at this statement, leaves swirling around the four of us and then fluttering back to the ground as the wind died down.

"Who? Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura looked genuinely befuddled. Ah, poor clueless Sakura.

"No," came Sasuke's short and gruff response. At this, a sharp ringing sound emerged from the distance, signifying the end of the exam. "Tch. I wasted too much time talking." He trudged off, leaving us to our bearings.

I made a decision right then and there. I was going to make it my mission to annoy the heck out of Uchiha Sasuke. I sprinted ahead and roughly slammed into him, making him stumble and almost trip. He looked caught off guard for a split second before regaining his composure and shooting me a deadly glare. Stepping into his path and stopping him dead in his tracks, I shouted, as it seemed to annoy him the most.

"WELL, TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH YOU DAMN, STUCK UP UCHIHA, YOU DON'T TALK MUCH IN THE FIRST PLACE. MAYBE YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN A DAMN BELL IF YOU PAID MORE ATTENTION TO WHAT THE HECK WAS HAPPENING AROUND YOU, O-K-A-Y?"

He grunted, walked around me, and continued on with his hands shoved in his pockets, ignoring my sudden outburst. Wow, touchy.

Sayu decided to break the silence that ensued as Sasuke's footsteps receded. "So, uh, wanna head for the logs? It's time for lunch. I'm starving." I nodded in agreement and linked my arm through Sayu's, eager for sustenance. Sakura huffed and followed a healthy distance behind as we made our way through the trees back for lunch.

* * *

**Sayuri**

As soon as we rejoined with the rest of the team, we were greeted with the sight of Naruto tied up to one of the log posts, stomach grumbling like a freight train. I felt bad for him and spared him a look of pity, to which he returned with a pout. Yuki and I sat on his right and Sasuke and Sakura took their spots on his left. Kakashi looked down at us with his arms crossed and a mocking look in his visible eye. All our stomachs simultaneously growled, like it was planned or something. That was weird.

"Oh, your stomachs are growling, eh? So, now, for the results of this training." Kakashi raised a finger.

"None of you have to return to the Academy." Naruto and Sakura's heads shot up and they both cheered and celebrated while Sasuke sat with a content look on his face. Yuki and I just leaned back and relaxed, knowing where this conversation was going. Here comes the twist.

"Yup, you three...should quit being ninjas!" Kakashi pointed at the blonde, pinkette, and the Uchiha. Sakura and Naruto immediately stopped their premature celebration and their faces fell. Yuki snickered at the sudden change in moods. Even Sasuke looked pissed for a change.

"Quit being ninjas? Whatta ya talkin' about?" Naruto furiously kicked the air repeatedly. "We couldn't get a bell, but we don't have to quit! And why only the three of us and not Sayu and Yuki?!"

"You five are just kids who don't deserve the title of ninja. Well, should I say, three. Sayu, Yuki…" Our sensei tilted his head a bit and made eye contact with both of us. "You both are actually decent in skill, though you two didn't attempt to work with the other three." All three of them cast glances towards us while Yuki smirked triumphantly at his first comment, choosing to ignore the latter part.

Sasuke, not pleased with Kakashi's monologue, got up and lunged at Kakashi, completely forgetting what had happened earlier in his anger. In a split moment, Kakashi had Sasuke pinned flat on the ground, foot pressed to his hair. Yuki decided that that was probably Karma, from the silent treatment she got from the Uchiha earlier, and she bit back her smile.

"See? Just kids." Sakura flared at Kakashi's violent treatment of Sasuke, hair flying wildly and her face turning an unnatural shade of purple.

"Do you think being a ninja is simple? Why do you think we are split into teams? You guys don't understand the answer to this test. The answer that determines whether you pass or fail." Sakura and Naruto looked thoroughly confused as they mulled over the answer.

"Are you guys really that stupid? Why are we split into groups?"

"We don't know! That's why we're asking you!" Naruto huffed in impatience.

"The answer is teamwork," Kakashi duly stated. Everyone looked puzzled, except two certain ninjas.

"You mean, we have to work together?" No shit, Sakura. Shall I get a dictionary? I mean, I had nothing against her. I actually was totally fine with her, though she just made it too easy sometimes. Shippuden Sakura is much more tolerable.

"That's right, but it's too late for that. If all of you had come at me at once, you would've have easily gotten a bell. Too bad for you guys."

"Why are there four bells if we are supposed to use teamwork? Even if we work together, one person won't be able to get one," Sakura inquired.

"This test puts you all against each other. We should prioritize teamwork before ourselves. That's the purpose, but all of you are still pathetic." Kakashi then started calling out our faults, which my pride didn't appreciate.

"It's true individual talent is important for a ninja, but an individual action can put a team in severe danger. Missions are done in groups for a reason." More and more blabber which I've already heard before. Yuki looked like she was about to doze off.

"I'll be lenient and give you guys another chance. Eat lunch if you are up for the challenge. Don't let Naruto eat though." He stepped closer. "That's your punishment for breaking the rules. You will fail immediately if you try to feed him, got it?"

Mmhm, totally.

* * *

The four of us grabbed our bento boxes while Naruto watched on from his position at the log. Yuki and I opened our boxes and were greeted with the appetizing aroma of food. Onigiri, vegetables, and sweet buns as a treat. Ah, finally. I had long gotten used to the taste of Japanese food, though I could really go for a nice burger from In-n-Out.

I grabbed my chopsticks, muttered a quiet "itadakimasu" and took a healthy bite of the vegetables, practically inhaling the whole thing. I only had to sate my hunger and then hand off my bento to Naruto. It appeared that Yuki had the same idea, taking a generous bite out of her onigiri and chewing as fast as she could. Sasuke and Sakura both took out their incredibly plain looking bentos and took slow, measly mouthfuls of rice.

Naruto's stomach loudly protested, disrupting the peace and quiet we had for once.

"I'm fine if I don't eat!" His stomach contradicted this statement, making Naruto flush red and divert his eyes. I took a few, last bites so I could offer my bento to Naruto, but it looked like Sasuke beat me to it.

"Here," Sasuke said, almost in a pleasant tone, raising his bento up at Naruto. Naruto's mouth dropped open.

"Sasuke-kun! Sensei just said not to-"

"It's fine. He isn't close by. All five of us are going to get the bells together. Naruto will only be troublesome if he doesn't eat."

"He's right, Naruto. Have some of mine too." I raised my bento up to him too, Sakura and Yuki both copying my example with theirs. Naruto looked like he was on the verge of tears as he gratefully accepted. Sakura hesitantly fed him a bite of rice with chopsticks, I offered him my onigiri, and Yuki fed him some vegetables. Naruto looked like he was in absolute bliss until someone had to come and ruin the fun.

In front of our eyes, a huge puff of smoke appeared out of nowhere and engulfed the area. A blur of silver emerged from within and boomed, "YOU FIVE!"

I had to admit that even though I saw this coming, Kakashi's face scared me a bit.

As to my teammates reactions, Naruto was scared shitless, Sakura surprised, Sasuke looked ready for whatever was coming next, and Yuki just stared on blankly.

"You five! All of you disobeyed my instructions. Are you all ready for your punishments?"

With a few hand signs, dark clouds gathered overhead and lightning could be heard in the distance. The wind picked up and hair whipped our faces.

"Any of you want to state your last words?"

Sasuke continued grinding his teeth together, Sakura shook in fright, Yuki didn't really gave a crap honestly, and Naruto started to blurt out random crap. And, what about me? Actually, I just watched the whole scene play out in amusement.

"B-But! But...but… What you said! That's why everyone…" Naruto glanced over to Sasuke.

"Together, we are all a five man team, right?" came with the Uchiha's determined tone.

"I thought you said we had to use teamwork. We're not going to just sit around and watch our teammate starve." I added. Yuki nodded in agreement.

Sakura put her fists together, having gained herself some confidence. "Yeah! All of us. We are five in one!"

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" Naruto shouted, looking from left to right and blindly kicking his legs at the air. "THAT'S RIGHT!"

"Hm? You are all five in one, eh?" Kakashi walked closer and leaned down to our levels. It was coming, finally.

The silver-haired Jounin donned a bright, if I can add, handsome smile behind his mask and gleefully added, "You pass!"

There was a short pause of stunned silence that was broken by Sakura.

"Huh? But…why?"

As Kakashi explained, the sky started to clear up, clouds disappearing into thin air and the sun shining on our faces again.

"You five are the first. Everyone that I had previously tested were just idiots that listened to and hung onto my every word. Shinobi must think beyond the normal. In the world of shinobi, those who break the rules are scum. But those who abandon their comrades are even worse than scum." And there it was.

Sakura and I broke out wide smiles. Yuki let a small smile crawl onto her face and then directed her attention over to a clearing of trees, probably mentally praising herself. Sasuke smirked, one of his few actual facial expressions, and Naruto was on the verge of tears. I swear you could literally hear the cheesy victory music in the background.

"H-he's kind of awesome." Naruto mumbled, tears sparkling in his blue orbs.

"Everyone has passed! Team 7 will embark on missions starting from tomorrow!" Kakashi concluded, with a badass thumbs-up to boot.

"YES!" Sakura cheered, ecstatic.

"I'm really a ninja now! A ninja! Ninja!" Naruto beamed, a huge grin tugging at his lips.

"Okay! Let's go home now." And with that, Kakashi turned around, and started for the village, Sasuke and Sakura following in suit.

A few seconds later, Yuki nudged me with her arm and sped ahead. I followed, and almost struggled to catch up in my state. In all of the hype, everyone had forgotten about poor Naruto, who was still being held prisoner by the log. Yuki and I walked a good mile before remembering about the poor blonde still held captive by the log and ran like to wind back to free him, Naruto almost half-dead from starvation.

* * *

"Great, now that we're ninja, you know what that means? We gotta all do those boring ass missions," I remarked as Yuki plopped herself down in the seat next to me, finally back at our apartment after a long morning. She brought out the kunai she had used in our fight earlier and cleaned off any traces of poison with a cloth.

"Ugh, like babysitting and finding lost cats." Yuki made a disgruntled face at the thought, as she sharpened the kunai on the edge of the table. It already had countless marks all around, and I never gave much mind to it. We never really used this table anyway.

"Well, it's all part of the process of being a Genin. I can't wait 'till we're Chuunin."

"Yup. That's when the real excitement kicks in." I drifted into thought, thinking what the future would hold in store for us.

"By the way, what are we gonna do for the Chuunin Exams?" Yuki questioned, dipping the kunai into a vial she had brought out and popped open. Finishing off her little daily routine, she corked the vial again and placed it and the kunai back in her pouch.

"Eh, there are five of us, aren't there?" I placed my finger to my chin, thinking. "That's not going to work for stage 2. We'll probably have to form our own team and add someone else." God, that just sucks. I want to be there when the team encounters Orochimaru.

Actually, scratch that. Probably best if I don't meet snake-ass.

**A/N: Team Kakashi is official! Hooray! *pops confetti***

**But in all seriousness, this is where the story starts picking up since we're heading into the Land of Waves arc. There will be a lot more fighting scenes involved, so I'm not sure how you guys will like that, but we want to keep it as close to the anime as possible. Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter, because it's going to be exciting! ****All in all, thank you for reviewing if you have done so. If not, make sure to review and favorite, as it shows your support for this story.**

**In other news, school will be starting in three days as of the time of this update, so I might be late with updates after the next depending on what homework I have and what not, so just a heads up beforehand. Other than that, I will see you guys in the next chapter. Take care, guys! See ya!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of its characters, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Though, we do own our OCs.**

**Chapter 8: Onwards! To the Land of Waves!**

**Yukiko**

"Let's see, I have a babysitting mission, grocery shopping, pulling weeds-"

"No, no, no!" Naruto held up his arms in an X position. "I refuse to do any more easy missions! Come on, old man! Isn't there anything more exciting?" Naruto whined, clearly not enjoying the past missions we've been given so far. Even though Sakura and Sasuke both appeared indifferent, I was sure they felt the same way.

I mean, these missions really do get boring. Walking dogs, chasing cats; all not jobs fit for ninjas. If I had been counting the days correctly, and since we had just retrieved the feudal lord's wife's cat, we're about to get the Land of Waves mission. Hallelujah.

"You fool! You are just Genin! You only get the basic missions for now!" Iruka retorted, going on one of his rages again.

"But these missions are SO boring-" Kakashi stopped Naruto from continuing by landing a nice, hard blow on his head, stopping the blonde from continuing.

"Naruto, everyone has to start somewhere. All of you are new Genin and will proceed to complete missions of D-rank, until you are experienced enough. Maybe after that, I'll assign you a C-rank." The Hokage puffed on his cigar in frustration at Naruto's stubbornness. He sat on the wood floor, legs and arms crossed in rebellion. All of us sighed, even me.

"Look, Naruto. It's just for now, so deal with it. You'll work your way up and you'll be doing C-ranks soon enough," Sayu assured Naruto, encouraging him to stand up and stop making a fool of himself.

"I'm not a little kid anymore! I'm now a ninja!" Naruto swiveled around to face the Hokage and Iruka, who both stared in astonishment before chuckling at this statement.

"Okay, so be it. I guess I will let you take a C-rank. It's an escort mission," the Hokage relented, Naruto jumping up at the sound of a C-rank.

"Who is it? Are we escorting the feudal lord?! Maybe a princess?!" He looked absolutely overjoyed, too bad he would be greatly disappointed. Our client was neither one of those options.

"I'll introduce him. Come in, sir!" He called out, beckoning a geezer, Tazuna, if I remembered correctly, into the room. All of us turned towards the door as the other three watched in anticipation. The door was slid open and the old man leaned heavily against the door frame with a bottle of sake sloshing wildly his hand.

"Hm? They're all just kids!" He took a hearty swig of his drink, stopping to wipe his grimy mouth after he was done. We all looked in confusion and utter disgust at his etiquette.

"Hey, is the shortest kid with the stupid looking face really a ninja?" He gestured toward Naruto. Eh, yup he is.

"Heh, who's the short kid with the stupid looking face?" Naruto looked proud almost, sure he wasn't that said person.

All four of us stepped closer for a height measurement. Sayu was the tallest; a whole inch above Sasuke who was the tallest in the anime. I tied with Sasuke, Sakura followed, and Naruto was dead last. Man, finally, I'm not considered short for my age. Back in the real world when I was the same height, I was considered short as hell. Not anymore.

Naruto was furious. Sayu looked fairly satisfied that she was taller than Sasuke, a smirk present on her face.

Admittedly, I wasn't very happy to be tied with Sasuke, but at least I beat Sakura.

Naruto started to throw his little hissy fit and shouted out death threats at the bridge builder. Kakashi held him back before he could do any damage.

"You're not supposed to kill the person you're to protect, idiot," Kakashi scolded, holding onto the back of the blonde's jumpsuit.

The old man pulled a serious expression, or as serious as you can get when you're drunk as fuck. "I am Tazuna, an expert bridge builder. You are all to protect my life with yours during our journey back to my country, and while I finish the bridge."

* * *

The sun was shining bright and the birds were chirping as we made our way out the gate of Konoha. A clear blue sky greeted us and was well appreciated for our journey ahead.

This would be the first time in years that Sayu and I had stepped out of these very gates, and I stopped to take some time to reminisce. Sayu looked as if she had been thinking the same as I, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.

I stood in my spot for a second before speed walking to catch up with the rest of the group. One thought stayed with me for the rest of the mission, _I wonder if we are ever going to come back..._

Naruto continued to walk ahead before turning around with the most excited expression.

"OKAY! LET'S GO EVERYONE!" he sputtered out.

"Hey," Tazuna swiveled his head over to Kakashi, pointing a finger over to Team 7's ball of energy. "Does this kid even have the skills to survive this mission?"

Kakashi let out a laugh before reassuring our escort that there was nothing to worry with a Jounin on hand.

Naruto apparently had a talk with himself before whipping back around to face Tazuna, pointing his right index finger.

"You! Old man! Don't underestimate ninjas! Especially me, the best, greatest ninja!" He plastered on a confident smile. "One day, I will be the elite ninja that is going to become the Hokage! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! You better remember it!"

Tazuna took a gulp of his drink, I presumed to be some form of sake. "So you think you're going to be Hokage? Isn't that the rank of the number one ninja of the village? Like a kid like you can even dream of becoming one…"

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted. "I will do and go through anything just to become Hokage! Then, if I become the Hokage, you will have to start to respect me!"

"I will never, kid. It will be the same even if you ever become Hokage."

Naruto was about ready to lunge at the man again, before Kakashi grabbed him by his backpack.

"Will you stop, idiot?" Kakashi murmured.

"No! At least let me hit him ONCE!" Naruto complained, trying to get out of his sensei's iron grip.

I heard a distant, faint rustling in the trees above us. Though, when I looked, there was not one soul present. Oh, but I knew that there _was_ someone there.

Indeed.

Why you ask? Because shit was about to go down.

* * *

**Sayuri**

I could feel it. Well, it's not like I didn't already know, but I had a weird sensation run down my back, like someone was watching us. I glanced up in the trees towards our right, but nothing was to be seen.

We started making our way through the forest, Sakura making an effort to converse as much as she could with Tazuna to keep the lingering, awkward silence out of the way. Yuki and I made small talk on the side, while the rest walked ahead quietly.

We made our way to a rushing stream and crossed a small wooden bridge, our steps echoing and the bridge creaking under our weight. That was when we came across the puddle, the puddle that wasn't supposed to be there. I trained my eyes on it as we passed by, making it clear I was suspecting something. I slowly moved my hand into my weapon holster, preparing a few shuriken for the upcoming battle that was sure to ensue.

And there it began. Mist ninja arose from the puddle once our backs were turned and Yuki, Kakashi, and I all turned immediately. A metal chain shot out and coiled around Kakashi as I launched a series of shuriken at both of the rogue nin, which bounced off against the hard steel of their armor-like attire.

"What?!" Everyone turned around in time to see Kakashi getting seemingly castrated. Their faces were hilarious, well except Sasuke, as always. To be experiencing this scene in real life, is not pleasant.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto screamed in agony, Sakura gasped and stumbled back.

"First one." The two rogue nin flashed behind Naruto. "Second one." I unsheathed my katana, poising it in front, ready to strike. Yuki extracted two poison kunai from her weapon pouch and got into a fighting stance. This was a real battle, unlike anything I had experienced before. I can't die, no one can die.

Naruto stood in shock, unable to make a move. Sasuke came to the rescue, jumping into the air and launching both a kunai and a shuriken. The chain was embedded into the tree with the shuriken. The kunai kept it from going anywhere. Wow, those boss moves. Sasuke landed on the arms of the rogues, and with a "hn", kicked them both straight in the face. The metal chains snapped and they charged at us, their new targets. Sakura immediately jumped in front of Tazuna, arms spread and ready to defend. Yuki soon threw herself in front of her, me in front of Yuki, and then Sasuke flickered over in front of all of us before I got my face mauled by the incoming blow. It was like some sort of domino effect thing going on.

And lo and behold, guess who comes to save the day. None other than Copy Ninja Kakashi, grabbing the charging ninja in a choke hold. Sasuke was not pleased and wore probably his most hilarious facial expression so far. Sakura and Naruto, on the other hand, were relieved that Kakashi was alive. Yuki made sure Tazuna was okay as he collected himself.

"Kakashi-sensei used the Replacement Jutsu." Naruto looked somehow surprised. Why is that surprising? Kakashi is an elite ninja, something like that should be easy.

"Sorry for not helping out earlier, Naruto. You're hurt. I didn't know you weren't going to move." He walked up to the rest of us. "Anyway, good job, the four of you."

Naruto looked absolutely gutted. I knew what he was thinking and I wanted to just run up to him and hug him. Yuki looked at him with reassuring eyes, probably thinking the same.

"I have no idea why I sacrificed myself for Sakura." Yuki looked almost disappointed in herself as she shook her head, placing her kunai back in her side pouch.

Nobody except myself heard Yuki's comment and I gave her a pat on the back to tell her that she did good enough for our very first fight.

A voice worded out a "hey" from beside me. I turned to face it and the voice was revealed to belong to no other than Sasuke. He had on one of his trademark smirks that fangirls worldwide fainted from.

"So, are you hurt anywhere…" He took a split second pause, "...scaredy cat?"

"SASUKE!" Naruto appeared extremely aggravated and stomped his foot on the ground in anger..

"Tch, who knew the Uchiha had a sense of humor?" Yuki uttered in a bitter tone. She turned her body to face Sasuke, with the most exasperated face I had ever seen on her. "The little fuck, I wish he didn't speak one word. One. Fucking. Word."

I reached over to grab her shoulder, to tell her that that was enough for now. But, she just turned her back towards me and walked a little ways to sort out her thoughts. Fortunately, she was dealing with her temper mentally, not physically.

A look over to the Uchiha told me he heard Yuki's every word. Though, he said nothing, and there was no other note that he had really registered what Yuki had said besides his clenched fists. "You know Yuki. Just ignore her." He didn't turn to acknowledge what I said, though I'm sure he heard.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called out to the infuriated blonde, before he could unleash his revenge on the already slightly annoyed Uchiha Sasuke. "There seems to be some kind of substance…, poison most likely, on these guys' nails. We better remove any trace of it from you, and quickly."

"Wh-what?" Naruto's expression contorted into that of fear.

"We will have to to open up your wound a little further," Kakashi continued on in a matter-of-fact tone, "and then leech out any of the poison that may be in your bloodstream."

Naruto raised his hand to his face to observe his wound. It looked to be three slashes, all about three inches long. He grit his teeth and seemed to get ready for what was ahead.

"Make sure not to move around too much, or else the poison will start to spread." Our sensei finished off.

"And… Tazuna-san." He began again, now addressing the bridge builder.

Tazuna jumped, obviously surprised. "Wh-what is it?"

"Nothing…" Kakashi turned his head over to the left. "We just need to have a little talk."

* * *

**Yukiko**

Wispy clouds were starting to form above us and the sun was shining as bright as ever.

Kakashi had tied the two Mist nin under a big shady tree. We all stood around our assailants in a semi-circle. Sasuke the asshole was on the far left, then Sakura to his right, Sayu next, Kakashi in about the middle, with Tazuna to his right, then Naruto, and to round it off, yours truly.

"These two are Chuunin ninjas from Kirigakure." Kakashi identified. "They have a reputation known to keep on fighting no matter what the cost or injury at stake."

"How did you know what we were going to do?" one of the nin asked.

Just as Kakashi was about to answer, Sayu added in her intellect from the show and her own common sense.

"Hm. Well it was a bit obvious, right sensei?" Sayu looked over to Kakashi, who looked a bit surprised that she seemed to know a bit, but nodded and let her continue on. "There hasn't been a drop of rain in the past few days, and it's sunny today, to add onto that. So, a water puddle like the one we passed on the road shouldn't have even been there."

Kakashi gave off another nod, "Exactly correct, Sayuri. Just what I was about to say. Though I couldn't have said it any better."

"If you knew that these two were there, then why did you let the kids fight?" Tazuna questioned.

"Believe me, that if I had the intention to, I could have killed both of these guys in the blink of an eye. But…," Kakashi's tone turned serious. "But, I first needed to find out just who they were after."

"And…what do you mean by that?" The old man asked, already looking nervous.

Kakashi relayed a long ass speech to Tazuna on who might be the targets of the two rogue ninja. Adding the details together, he concluded that the mission was obviously a high B-rank, not a C.

"We can't handle this. This is way out of our league." Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "Let's bail out. Besides, we will need some medication in order to extract the toxin out of Naruto. We need to go back to the village and see a medic!"

Obviously Haruno just wanted to get out of the mission. Too scared to go on. Just plain pathetic. I doubt she even gave one crap about Naruto. If it was her _beloved _Sasuke who got hurt, she would've probably fainted on the spot. Damn, just the both of them…

I shook my head. I needed to stop thinking about those two. I can feel a migraine coming on, and hey, I'm 12 years old physically, but 22 mentally.

An unbearable silence passed through as Naruto stared at his wound. He looked over to Kakashi, who made brief eye contact with him before tipping his head up to the sky.

"This sure is troublesome. Let's all just move back to the village and get Naruto cured." Kakashi stated.

Naruto looked absolutely angered and he grit his teeth together in frustration. The glint of a kunai sparkled in the corner of my eye before it went sunk right into Naruto's left hand.

Everyone's face was a sight to be seen; everyone except two certain nin who had seen it coming. Though Sayu did look somewhat disturbed by the blood flying everywhere.

"Why? Why am I always so different from everyone else...Why am I always...Damn it!"

"Naruto!" Sakura stepped forward. "Do you know what you just did?"

Then Naruto started on his all inspirational speech about all he had done up to this point and how he promised on his pain that he would protect Tazuna. He concluded with the message that the mission was to continue on. I had to admit that the boy almost brought a tear to my eye.

"Naruto, I am proud of you for taking out the poisoned blood so valiantly, but if you lose any more blood… you're going to die." Kakashi commented.

A silence lingered before Naruto's face turned purple and Kakashi reassured him that indeed, he could die any second.

When Naruto showed his hand to Kakashi, I could see the widening of his eyes, registering Naruto's unnaturally quick healing. He bandaged it up, to throw off any suspicion, and then we were off on our merry way again.

* * *

**Sayuri**

I chatted on with Yuki for most of the way before we made it to the rowing boat. On the way, she tried to to "accidently" trip Sasuke four times, all of which failed and not to mention trying to "accidentally" punch him in the goddamn face when she "accidently" stumbled into him, and he avoided that too. Although, he did seem a bit surprised when she bumped into him. She made sure to say sorry each time, though it didn't really seem to be genuine when she fell back into step with me to curse off the "asshole", as she hereby nicknamed him. She really had to stop messing with him; I bet she was just doing it to get a kick out of it.

Kakashi paid us no mind, being too involved in his Icha Icha Paradise.

Yuki, seeming bothered that she couldn't unleash hell onto the "asshole", decided to move onto another victim.

Speeding up a bit, she caught up with Kakashi, who was still delved into his book. His one visible eye flashed in curiosity before flicking back to read his book.

'What could one kid do?', was probably what our sensei was thinking. Oh, but he didn't _know _what Yuki could do and all the bullshit I had to go through with her in our previous lives. I am going to get payback one day.

Anyway, why should I worry about payback now, when I could obviously tell that Yuki was plotting something again right at the moment? This had to be good.

Everyone continued to walk on and everything went by normally. Until a certain dark haired nin decided to open her big mouth, which always signified the start of something mischievous.

"'_Oh… don't do that Takashi-kun!' The blonde moaned out to her black haired lover. He continued to trail kisses all over her body, a smirk playing on his features. After a few minutes of endless torment and pleasure the blonde stranger received, Takashi decided to put an end to the night. The woman underneath him sensed what was going through his mind, and managed to get out her next words in a few bated breaths. 'No…I'm...not ready...yet, Takashi.' The Jounin made no indication that he had heard her, and instead started to-" _

"Okay, Yuki, that's just about enough," Kakashi shut his book and placed it back inside his vest.

And, what I saw next was what I was not prepared for.

Hatake Kakashi , the copy-nin, Sharingan user, one of the ultimate badasses in all Naruto history, was _embarrassed. _And, now that may seem like nothing, even for Kakashi, who barely shows a variety of emotion due to his mask, but you could _see_ the visible parts of his face turning freaking _crimson red_.

_Goddamn this was priceless._ I couldn't force back the grin that undoubtedly made its way onto my features.

Sakura, Sasuke, and Tazuna, who had been previously walking ahead, stopped in their tracks.

Luckily, none of them turned back, or our two teammates view of our sensei would have been forever tarnished.

Yuki registered Kakashi's unnatural shade of red almost immediately and was about to make a comment on it. Before she could, he started patting her head and messing her hair like crazy.

"Now, now. Yuki," Kakashi said in a playful tone, before turning dead serious. And it looked hella scary now that his blush was gone. "I'm sure you and Sayu have much more to talk about, so why don't you go on back?" He lowered his voice, so that only Yuki could hear.

A minute passed and Yuki made her way back up next to me, fixing up her ravishing hairstyle. Everyone else up ahead got the cue that the past events were over and trudged on.

I tried asking Yuki what Kakashi had told her, but all I got were a few mutterings. "Threaten me, huh…", "How dare he…!", and "Just wait until I find another opportunity… When he brings out his book again…", being the most notable ones.

Apparently, Kakashi heard the latter and decided it best to save the rest of his book for later, much to Yuki's dismay.

After half an hour, I managed to convince my best friend that it wasn't a good idea to be left on bad terms with our own sensei. Reluctantly, she went up and apologized to Kakashi, who took it quite well.

Surprisingly, the both had quite a few things in common that they both had a good chat about. At least they had made up, I thought happily.

'Aren't we just the happiest team in this world? Definitely not a team of psychos. Nope._'_ I thought to myself.

Minutes later, we all made our way to the small rowboat waiting for us at the broken and worn-old dock at the edge of the glistening blue water, what's remaining of the sun shining down over the reflection of the azure sea. We climbed into the small boat and settled down before the rower took off, starting our long journey to the Land of Waves.

**Review, follow and fave! Thank you for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of its characters, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Though, we do own our OCs.**

**Chapter 9: Of Mist and Leaf**

The rowboat was a tight fit for all seven of us, plus the rower. Naruto took his place in front with Sakura a little behind him. Sasuke sat on the right side with Kakashi to his left and Tazuna further behind them. That left two spots left for pickings. Yuki was about to take the spot closer to the front, but after realizing that her two worst enemies, a pinkette and "asshole" were within seeing and sitting range, she stepped out and let me go ahead. I took my spot and Yuki moved back in and sat down to my right in front of Kakashi.

Kakashi reached in his pouch and took out his Icha Icha Paradise again, and fell into his regular reading trance.

I assumed that Yuki had finally patched things up with the silver haired nin and gained some respect for him too, as she made no indication of bothering him at any time. I gave her props for that.

A silent half-hour passed before Sakura broke it, commenting, "This mist is really dense. I can't see anything of what's ahead." Oh, you don't say? Like it hasn't been like that for the past f-ing half hour.

Sasuke wore an expression of irritation, and for what, I had no clue. Yuki told me that 'he probably needs to take a shit', though that was debunked from the glare he sent our way.

Up ahead Naruto face expression was indeed priceless, and Yuki briefed to me that Naruto was going through the "Five Stages of Constipation". He was currently at stage 2.

"We should be coming across the bridge soon," the rower informed us, his oar slicing through the water in clean, fluent strokes.

Under the suffocating mist, we could make out a large figure above us, pulling off into both directions continuously.

"So, Tazuna. I need to ask you something. About who's after you," Kakashi spoke up after we passed under the bridge. Tazuna tensed up at the question. "If you don't tell us, of course, we can land on the island to drop you off and then be on our way."

Tazuna grunted and sighed, seeing no choice. "Fine, looks like I have to tell you my story." Everyone's attention perked up and was directed towards Tazuna. "I am being pursued by an awful man."

"And who is that awful man?"

"Gatoh." And so, Tazuna went on explaining his dire situation while we shot in comments every now and then. "Of course, you don't have to help me and let me die in the hands of my assailants. My grandson can just cry and cry all day while my young daughter will hold a grudge against the Leaf forever." Now he was just blatantly playing with our emotions. Hmph, what a faker.

Everyone in our team seemed to take this thought to mind, evidently feeling bad about what they would cause. Even Sasuke looked sorry. I just folded my arms with a snort. I can't believe they believed his crap. Yuki looked like she was contemplating something. Not her too.

"Fine, we'll continue escorting you." Kakashi thought about it and relented. Tazuna looked clearly pleased, silently celebrating while they rest weren't paying attention.

"We're arriving at the Country of Waves," the rower voiced after the end of Tazuna's tale.

The boat slowly and surely pulled up against the bank of the island that magically just peeked out from the never ending mist. The mist cleared and we got a scenic view of where we had come from, the bridge in the near distance and the azure sky and water. The rocking boat steadied as the rower secured it against a dock post and gave us the okay to get out.

"That's as far as I can go," the rower stated as he sat down in the boat, hand grazing over the motor.

With an acknowledged nod and a thank you from all of us, the rower was sent back on his way, utilizing the motor this time. The hum from the motor slowly receded as we turned to walk away.

* * *

**Yukiko**

Upon arrival, we were welcomed to a boardwalk town. Houses hung over just above the water, held with wooden beams, planks and supports. It was a simple enough town, but it caught the breaths of each of us six nin.

As soon as the rower departed from the dock, Tazuna informed us that it was about time that we get a move on to his house.

* * *

Down the path, Sasuke sped up and walked ahead of Naruto, Naruto then proceeding to quicken his steps in order to not lose against Sasuke.

I sped up my pace in order to not be left behind. Though, before I could get there, Naruto moved up far ahead and started to scout the area.

"Over there!" he shouted, throwing out a kunai to a nearby bush.

The group was startled, and Sakura's raised her eyebrow in confusion. Even Sayu had on an expression that I would make fun of later.

Naruto, who was crouched, rose up from his position on the ground. "Sorry. It was nothing but a mouse," He stated nonchalantly.

Three of the group made comments, Sakura complaining for Naruto to stop showing off, Kakashi explaining that it was far too dangerous to just be throwing kunai blindly, and Tazuna being the loudest of them all.

The blonde seemingly confused, started to point out various places where he thought 'someone' was before launching another kunai into a bush behind him.

Kakashi moved over to discover that Naruto's victim was nothing other than a snow rabbit. The thrown kunai was embedded into a tree, just inches above the animal's head. Sayu picked up the frightened rabbit and started to pet it, the critter quaking from its traumatic encounter with the weapon. Out of nowhere, Naruto snatched the rabbit out of Sayu's arms and started to suffocate it in a hug.

We all watched Naruto try to comfort the devastated rabbit, while Kakashi turned his back to us, in thought.

"Everyone, on the floor!" Kakashi cried out in alarm, startling Naruto and scaring the rabbit out of Naruto's embrace, who scampered off into the nearby greenery.

Caught off guard, I stood in my spot for a millisecond before getting pulled down by Sayu, who was already flat on the ground. The only sign of my slight mishap was the small unevenness of the hair on my right side, cut by a humongous sword. Oh great. Kakashi slowly got up and gave us the clear to do the same with a wave of his right hand.

As I got back to my feet, Kakashi was already introducing the owner of the Kubikiribocho.

With his back faced toward us, I could only just identify the Mist ninja, with a black strap around his neck, striped blue pants, and fucking cow print arm warmers, as I would describe them to be.

Naruto, thinking this was the best opportunity to show off and beat Sasuke, ran over to Zabuza. Kakashi's outstretched hand prevented him from going on any further.

"Don't get in the way. Everyone else, stay back," Kakashi warned, trying to keep Naruto where he was.

"Eh? Why?" came from a puzzled blonde genin.

"He is on a whole other level than the ninja we encountered before," Kakashi explained, bringing back his hand to place it on his hitai-ate.

Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke had awed expressions plastered on their faces, as they were finally going to be able to see Kakashi's other eye.

"Kakashi, the Sharingan user, am I correct?" Zabuza questioned, regarding us over his shoulder.

Sasuke let out a surprised grunt, his eyes narrowing in anticipation.

"I'm sorry, but you will have to give me the old man," the Mist nin requested.

A few seconds passed, in which _almost _everyone took in the new information about Kakashi and his Sharingan.

"Every one of you, make the swastika formation. You must protect Tazuna. Do not interfere in this battle. Doing that will still count as teamwork," our sensei instructed.

And then, Kakashi finally raised his headband to expose his scarred eye. In a flash, he opened the eye to reveal his Sharingan.

Even I was impressed. There's one thing seeing it a million of times in a manga or anime, but seeing it in person, well that's another. Way better than those fake contacts you buy online.

"Oh, what an honor you have given me to be able to see the Sharingan that I have heard about," Zabuza commented.

"Sharingan this, Sharingan that, all of you keep on saying, but what is it exactly?" Naruto complained, completely lost and perplexed.

Sasuke went on a lecture, probably the most words he had ever spoken in his lifetime at once. The mist enveloped us again in its damp embrace.

"The scary thing is, the Sharingan can copy enemies' techniques." Zabuza spoke up, still atop the hilt of his large blade. "Which is why you are dubbed 'Copy Ninja Kakashi'. The man who has copied thousands of techniques." Sakura and Naruto gaped in surprise and amazement. "Let's cut the small talk and get on with it. The geezer has to be eliminated." Tazuna's eyes widened and all five of us swiftly positioned ourselves in our formation, surrounding him with weapons at the ready.

"Looks like I'll have to kill you first, Kakashi." Zabuza recovered his blade and landed swiftly onto the water nearby. He raised one arm in the air, two fingers up, and another hand performed a seal. The mist spiraled around his figure and his chakra levels spiked up.

"Hidden Mist Jutsu." With that, he disappeared into the fog, no trace left behind except a leaf slowly fluttering to the water.

"Be careful, that's Momochi Zabuza. He's known for his silent killing jutsu. As the name implies, he kills without making a sound. You may be dead before you even know it. Don't let your guard down." Kakashi emerged ahead into the mist, and his silhouette disappeared. All of us remained in our positions, unwavering.

"Eight points. Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, collarbone, kidney, and heart. Where do you want to be struck?" Zabuza's voice boomed from all directions, making it impossible to tell where he was. Kakashi, who was only a little bit ahead, performed a jutsu, his blast of chakra temporarily clearing the mist.

Sasuke was frozen still, his knees quaking. I couldn't believe I would see the day where Sasuke was visibly shaken. Beads of sweat ran down the side of his face and his face had an unsightly pale quality to it, paler than usual. He gripped his kunai with both hands shakingly. That was put to a stop as Sayu called out to Sasuke, removing him from his trance.

"Snap out of it, Sasuke. Concentrate and focus. We will live through this. Besides, Kakashi wouldn't let us die, right?" Sayu glanced over at Kakashi in hope.

"Of course. I won't let my team die." He looked back with a grin on his face. It seemed to relieve everyone's worries for a moment. But I knew better. I tightened my hold around my two kunai and Sayu slowly shifted outwards, gradually raising the tip of her katana.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Zabuza's voice projected from behind us, signifying his presence. I immediately reacted and launched my weapons backwards, hoping to land a hit. The kunai rebounded against his weapon with a clang. "This is the end for you." The rest stood in shock as Zabuza raised his blade and swung it around, his intent being to decapitate each and every one of us. Luckily, we all jumped out of the way as Kakashi flashed in to intercept.

As we recovered from our close call, Kakashi had thrust a kunai into the left side of Zabuza's rib cage. Water seeped out, revealing this "Zabuza" to actually be a water clone.

"Eh heh, nice sword! Where'd you get it? From the butcher?" I joked, in an attempt to lighten up the mood a bit. Zabuza didn't even acknowledge my fail of a joke and charged at Kakashi, who had his back turned.

"Behind you!" Naruto called out in alarm to our sensei, who barely had time to look back before Zabuza took a swipe at him with his sword, turning him into miniscule water droplets, the fine mist spreading everywhere.

The Mist ninja took a minute in realization of what Kakashi had done with his Sharingan. In that time, the Jounin appeared behind Zabuza and pointed a kunai to his neck.

"Don't make one move," Kakashi warned. "This is the end for you."

Indeed, on my badass meter, Kakashi was definitely a 10.

All around, sighs of relief were heard, even from Sayu. But not for long.

"The end, you say?" Zabuza chuckled, another copy of himself appearing behind the copy nin. "Someone of your petty ability has no chance of defeating me." More laughter. "Don't underestimate me, I'm not that easy to defeat."

Kakashi thrust his kunai forward, only to discover who he had been holding captive to be a water clone. Taking his chance, Zabuza swept his sword horizontally, Kakashi barely ducking in time to avoid complete dismemberment. The huge butcher knife went through the air and lodged itself into the ground.

The rogue ninja regripped his handle on the sword and falcon kicked Kakashi sky high. He grabbed his sword, charging into the haze. All of a sudden, he'd skidded to a stop at some spikes that Kakashi had left behind for him. With a "tsk", he dived headfirst into the water.

Shit. Things were not going as I would have wanted to. Maybe busting some badass moves out and a bit of showing off, but instead here I was sitting my ass on the ground with everyone else. Just watching the show. I needed to do something, and soon.

"Sensei!" Naruto screamed out.

"Fuck. I didn't think our first fight would be this...shit." Sayu trailed off. And holy shit, did she just curse out loud? Things were getting tense, because Kimura Sayuri usually never swore in front of the others. "His techniques are extremely advanced and not to mention his speed. He has an inordinate amount of power and chakra."

"His hand-to-hand is really good, too." Sasuke added on.

"We need to do something, a quick strategy. If we can just land one hit…" I held onto my kunai tighter. "It will make a hell lot of a difference. I was thinking-"

At that moment, Kakashi had bobbed his head out of the water. And should I mention that his hair was an epic drab? Now that I think about it, how did he keep it up anyway? A lot of hair gel in the morning maybe, OR it might be natural like Sasuke's duck-butt style. Okay, getting too off-topic here…

I directed my attention back to the water to find Zabuza standing behind Kakashi, performing a quick flurry of hand signs.

"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!" A second after, Kakashi found himself encapsulated in an orb of water, Zabuza's hand keeping him from escaping.

"You fell for it. There's no escaping this trap. Now then, for the genin."

* * *

**Sayuri**

We were in deep shit. Kakashi was trapped and now we had to deal with Zabuza's clone, which easily outclassed all of us combined. Naruto found himself sprawled on the ground, barely recovering from a nasty kick that was directed towards him. Sasuke himself was launched to the other side of the battlefield after being gripped to near-death by Zabuza. Yuki and I stood back, scared witless even though it was inevitable the outcome of this battle.

Suddenly, Yuki was charging towards the rogue nin, kunai clutched in hand.

"What are you doing?!" I screamed over the mist. "Don't just storm in without a plan!"

To no surprise, she didn't listen to a word I said and continued running. She stopped a few feet in front of Zabuza, looking for a possible opening. The mist ninja just watched, obviously curious as to what some puny Genin girl would be capable of, before sweeping her to the side.

Yuki just stood there, contemplating her options, and then flung both of her kunai, one aimed for the head and the other for the torso. Both were deflected by Zabuza's sword, and went flying in opposite directions.

Grinding her teeth together, the black haired nin could clearly see that she wasn't getting anywhere. Good. Now maybe she would get her ass back over here and see rea-

"HEY! COWASS! BUTCHER!" Oh, no. Not the screaming. "YES. I'M TALKING TO YOU. ZABUZA!"

The mist ninja raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised at her sudden outburst.

"WHAT IS WITH YOUR FASHION CHOICE?! HEY, I DON'T JUDGE SOMEONE FROM WHAT THEY WEAR AND I'M NOT A CERTAIN FASHION OBSESSED NINJA…" Yuki tilted her head in my direction. Hell no, she better not getting me into this. "BUT SERIOUSLY COULDN'T YOU HAVE THOUGHT OF SOMETHING BETTER BESIDES COW ARM AND LEG WARMERS? IF YOU ASK ME, IT TAKES AWAY ALL THE 'SCARY' ELEMENTS YOU HAVE. YOU'RE SETTING YOURSELF TO LOOK LIKE A COW! DON'T YOU SEE? I GUESS IT MAKES SENSE THOUGH BECAUSE YOU'RE A BUTCHER, BUT YEAH. REAL UGLY. SOMEONE CALL THE FASHION POLICE...err..uh..FASHION ANBU!"

Zabuza's grip on his sword tightened, clearly not pleased to be compared to of all things, a cow…an ugly cow. Or would that be an ugly butcher? I guess in the end it was the same thing. Though, Zabuza probably wasn't amused by either.

"Sayu."

My eyes drifted over to my right side, where Sasuke had made his way over to, probably during Yuki's crazed speech.

"Yes? Is there something you have to say?"

Sasuke raised his voice ever so slightly, "Can you tell her to stop acting so…childish? And to stop shouting. It's getting us nowhere."

"I wish I could, Sasuke. Trust me. But you know how...stubborn she can be." I cast a wary glance her way.

"SASUKE!"

Sasuke's eyes flickered up, surprised of suddenly being addressed by Yuki, who still had her back to us.

"I HEARD YOU! AND URUSAI! I HAVE A PLAN OKAY? JUST WATCH AND LEARN, EMO BOY!"

Yuki took in a deep breath, and thank the lord, stopped shouting. I guess Sasuke got his wish. "Any who..." She raised her index finger and placed it on her chin, feigning a stance of deep thought. "How do you even carry that humongous butcher sword around? It must weigh a TON! Hey, if you don't mind, can I try and carry it? I promise I won't get it dirty or anything. Hehe. What do you say, _Mr. Cow-Butcher_?"

That was the last straw.

The cow butcher tightened his fist around his sword and swung it into the air, over Yuki. Bringing it down, the clone only swiped through air, as Yuki had moved in the last seconds to avoid being the butcher's next victim.

This went on for a few minutes. Swing. Dodge. Swing. Dodge. Swing. Dodge.

What was going on?

Not to underestimate my dear loud-mouthed best friend, but this was a small squabble between a lowly experienced Genin, who barely got experience picking weeds and catching lost cats and a _highly_ experienced Jounin, not to mention one who had murdered hundreds of Genin in cold blood. Shouldn't Zabuza have already landed a hit? In a split second, it hit me. All that shouting, getting him angry. It was all to...

Then it happened. Zabuza, in his indefinite rage, had took yet another swing for Yuki, only to have missed by a mere inch. And in his rage, he had left a wide open, undefended spot near his torso.

Yuki, taking into notice what she had been waiting for the whole time, hastily withdrew one of the kunai from her pouch and threw it at the opening. It hit true, and Zabuza realized his mistake, eyes widening, as the clone disappeared into millions of small droplets.

Turning back to me, I gave her a slow golf clap, and she grinned, appreciating the gesture, which actually wasn't meant in a good way. She almost got herself damn well killed, and if we just waited, Zabuza would've been defeated anyway. She offered a smirk to a dumbfounded, yes, dumbfounded, Uchiha, who had been watching the show with widened eyes.

"See? What did I tell you, Sasuke? I had a plan and now that we got rid of-"

A puddle had started to form behind Yuki, morphing into the shape of an displeased Zabuza Momochi. Here comes the mental slow golf clap. Great job.

"Yuki!" My eyes widened at what was happening right in front of my eyes. "Move! NOW!"

"What are you-" Yuki slowly and dramatically turned around, finally registering a very angry, very killer cow butcher breathing down her neck. "Haha. Hope you didn't mind that I-"

Zabuza grabbed Yuki by the neck and held her in a chokehold up in the air. Shit. This was _not_ good. I unsheathed my katana and charged towards Zabuza, with Sasuke on my heel, wielding a few shuriken.

But just as fast as he picked her up, the mist ninja dropped Yuki in midair and kicked her in the stomach, sending her back straight against a tree. With a cough, out came some blood. Yuki grimaced, knowing she was probably in some really deep crap at the moment.

Shit. This _really _was not good. Redirecting my route, I made my way over to crouch besides Yuki, who was now hacking out a small puddle of blood, while Sasuke continued on to Zabuza. I carefully dragged her a bit into the bushes, the foliage and greenery concealing her from Zabuza.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?" I asked with tone of worry.

"Ha. No shit." Another bloody cough. "Do you _think_ I'm okay?"

"Don't bring the attitude out on me now, Namikaze. I'm being serious here."

Of all things, the Genin started to laugh. Okay, so I knew she wasn't currently physically okay from Zabuza's kung-fu kick, but now her mental state was even more messed up. Just great.

"I'm okay…to say the least. It was just a really rough kick." A pause. Her right arm stretched out and was placed around her abdomen. "But I don't think I can fight anymore. Hehe...I might have some internal bleeding. Didn't think something like that would ever happen…," Yuki managed to breathe out in short breaths.

"INTERNAL BLEEDING?!" I screamed out in alarm.

"It's fine, Sayu. It's minor, I'm sure. I just can't move around much." She took on a serious tone, and I listened intently. Never was she serious, unless it was really important. "Just make sure that you kick the cow butcher's ass for me, and teach Sasuke's a few things, eh? I'll be fine. Now stop fussing over me and get over there and deal some serious damage." With that, she gave me an encouraging push back towards the battlefield.

"Will do friend." Giving her a reassuring smile, I turned around to meet back again with Sasuke, who was standing around with Sakura and Tazuna.

Surprisingly, the two looked a bit worried for the state of our teammate, and I spared them a few words to relieve their worries a bit. Gradually, all their faces morphed back to their normal expressions.

Now, to the matter at hand. I scanned around and found Zabuza a little off to the side.

His haunting shadow hung over the small figure of Naruto as he towered over him. Naruto's body shook and convulsed in shock and fear for his life. His once azure eyes projected a look I'd never seen before.

_This was a real ninja. Nothing like we've ever seen before._

I took this as a chance to remind Naruto of the promise he had made. "Naruto! Remember what you swore to yourself! Don't just sit there! Get up!" And as always, Naruto's thick skull prevented him from staying down and soon after, he was charging again for Zabuza, only to be sent back by a forceful kick. Again he got up, with another scratch on his dignity.

"Heh. Lend me an ear, Sasuke. I got a plan," Naruto stated with a smirk as he wiped away a trail of blood down his chin.

**A/N: Oh god, guys. I'm so sorry I'm late with this chapter. School started, and damn, I am STRESSED. I literally have the crappiest schedule and classes, and I finally see how difficult high school can be. But, enough about my life troubles. This chapter finally gets into the real action, Zabuza making his first appearance in the story. Team 7 seems to be having trouble, even with Sayu and Yuki added on. How will they fare? Will they win without any major casualties? Find out next chapter! **

**Again, I'd like to state beforehand, but updates starting from now on may be late, like this one. I won't stop updating though until I reach the end of this little test run, so you guys don't have to worry about that! Make sure to review and thanks for reading! See ya next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of its characters, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Though, we do own our OCs.**

**Chapter 10: Hidden Talents Emerge**

**Sayuri**

"What are you guys doing? Run! You guys won't make it while I'm stuck in here!" Kakashi decided it was a good time to remind us of how weak we were. He was still trapped and we had to get him out, quick. Tazuna, who stood farther back behind us, gave us the okay to go and fight. As a safety precaution, I handed him a kunai.

"To defend yourself, at least," I told him as he analyzed the strange weapon with a curious eye, like he was unsure of what to do with it. He accepted with a curt nod and I turned to head back into the battle.

"Heh, you fools don't learn do you?" Sasuke AGAIN was sent flying with a swipe of Zabuza's leg. An elbow connected with Sasuke's gut hard as he made contact with the ground, his back slamming down forcefully. Blood spewed out of Sasuke's mouth as I winced. That looked painful. Repeatedly, Zabuza dug his heel into Sasuke's stomach as Sasuke could only lie helplessly and cry out in anguish.

Damn. If you told me to just stand there, and just watch because Zabuza was going to be defeated by Kakashi...blah blah blah, I would tell you to fuck off. I was _not, _note that _not,_ going to just stand there and do nothing.

Tightening my grip on the katana, I planned to save the Uchiha's ass. A glance at the hilt of the katana, and a smile made it's way across my features. Time to use Mikazuki to its full potential.

* * *

"_Hey!"_

"_Hm? What is it?" I looked up, grazing my fingers over the hilt of my new katana._

"_So, you do know that I'm not giving you a plain ass katana right? I gave it some, er, powers to say…" Yuki informed me, slamming both of her palms down onto the table. _

"_Powers?" I questioned, now even more interested in the weapon I held in my hands._

"_Hell yeah, powers!" She got up and started to pace around the room. "You know that guy…what was his name? The guy who was with Kurenai?"_

"_Do you mean Asuma?"_

"_Yeah! You know his chakra blades?" She was raising her voice, signaling that she was finally going to make her point._

"_Of course, I do. Why?"_

"_Eh. Well, yesterday, after buying the gift, I went to the library-"_

"_You...went to the library?" I asked, putting on the most surprised facial expression and placing a hand over my heart._

"_Yes. Yes, I did Ms. Kimura." She paused in her pacing. "I was just curious if I could learn any more jutsu that would be useful later on. That's all." There began her pacing again. "Anyway, back to __the main topic at hand here, I happened to find a book in the dusty ass shelves in the back. 'Weapons: Bindings & Techniques' was the title, I think? I flipped the pages and found a page detailing binding chakra to most weapons, including katanas."_

"_It took me all night, and a lot of yelling from the librarian lady, but I managed to perfect it onto your katana," she finished off._

"_Wait. A technique like that to be applied to a weapon... It must've taken a lot of work and money." Yuki fidgeted and stopped her pacing once and for all. "Yuki?" My voice raised in apprehension._

"_Woah. Woah. Woah. Calm down. Yes, I admit I used most of this month's money for the expenses and materials needed to do the jutsu." I got up, katana in hand. Yuki, now hella scared at what I was about to do, spilled the rest of the beans. "But! It was all worth it, so will you stop marching towards me like you have a death warrant? You see, your katana can…"_

* * *

Wielding Mikazuki in my right hand, I started to charge some chakra into it. A faint, blue aura formed around the blade and centered from around the hilt. Eyes turned to me, interested in the new power that I was currently starting to show. After all, I had been saving it for a life or death situation like this one. That way, it was more spontaneous. Zabuza had stopped digging his foot into Sasuke and he focused on me, now interested.

Great, I currently have the attention of everyone within the radius. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

I seeped in the last of the chakra needed to get Mikazuki to it's full potential. The chakra expanded and enveloped the blade with an mystic, teal glow. Now, to fuck shit up.

I held the katana in the crook of my arm, and started to do a quick series of hand signs. Zabuza might be curious now, but he would probably soon realize that he didn't want the one who called him a cow-butcher's friend to show off her techniques. In a haze, I finished off the hand signs and leaped into action.

With my katana held tightly in both my hands, I charged towards Zabuza.

"Water Style: Crescent Tidal Barrage!" I shouted, swinging Mikazuki through the air in three clear swipes; diagonal, vertical, and straight through.

In a flurry, three crescent shaped water torrents were sent flying towards the mist ninja. Caught off guard by this new power, the clone barely had enough time to get off Sasuke and was caught in the third, and last water torrent coming his way.

A grunt was all that left the clone's lips before he became part of the surrounding water.

The real Zabuza, observed that the torrents were now making their way over towards him. He ducked, and all three passed him and then dissolved, becoming part of the mist. Damn it, it didn't do a thing.

"Hm, very impressive for a Genin," Zabuza complimented me. Well, wasn't that nice of him. "But, looks like you're drained of chakra now. Won't be using that move of yours anymore."

And he was right. That was really my last resort, it drained all my chakra, and I was surprised I had enough energy left to keep on standing.

Actually, scratch that, I didn't have enough energy to keep standing. I dropped onto one knee and clutched my head with my free hand. I suddenly felt light headed and the world seemed to be spinning round and round.

Sasuke and Naruto, having noticed my breakdown, looked me over in worry as I raised my hand up, signifying I was fine, even though I wasn't.

"Go over with Yuki. You don't have any chakra left to fight. You're going to get yourself killed if you stay here any longer," Sasuke said, seemingly unfazed, but his voice was laced with a tinge of worry.

"Yeah, Sayu. Don't worry, Sasuke and I will take care of this bastard!" Naruto shot me a thumbs up, relieving me of my worries and I nodded. With my remaining strength, I dragged myself over to Yuki by the tree and slid down in exhaustion. A ghost of a smile lingered on Yuki's lips, a gratifying and appreciative gesture. She patted me on the back and invited me to sit. So now, we would be nothing but spectators. As a safety precaution if Zabuza felt like aiming to kill us, I grasped my katana tightly in my lap.

Zabuza, from his position on the battlefield, shifted his eyes over to us then back onto Naruto and Sasuke a second later. I assumed he figured he would defeat Naruto and Sasuke first before worrying about us. That's relieving. If he sent even one shuriken over, I probably would be too slow and drained to block it.

Back to the fight, Zabuza had summoned yet another water clone. Didn't that just make my effort of taking care of his last clone, futile? And, Sasuke would've been saved by Naruto anyway. But, hey! I had actually done something, not just stand around like a certain pinkette. And I had earned a compliment from one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. It was good progress, if I did not say so myself.

The rest of the fight went by just like the anime and manga.

Sasuke continued to sit on the ground, a few feet away from the newly formed water clone. Naruto summoned his entourage of shadow clones; that was the distraction to his real plan. They all surrounded and jumped Zabuza simultaneously, each with a kunai in hand. Of course, the rogue ninja easily let himself free and the Narutos went sprawling in different directions. "Naruto" had taken off his backpack to pull out a folded fuuma shuriken that he tossed over to Sasuke. Sasuke, understanding Naruto's intentions, leaped straight up into the air, and used the momentum to fling the shuriken with all his might. The shuriken sliced through the air, surpassing a surprised water clone, to head for the real thing.

"Going for the real one this time?" Zabuza questioned. "But this is far too easy for me!" With that, he snatched the shuriken from the air with his free hand, taking into consideration a second shuriken coming his way. He spared a few comments before jumping to avoid being sliced. He made another comment about it being "too easy" for him, but oh, was he in for a surprise.

_Poof! _Everyone, including Zabuza, was taken aback as Naruto revealed himself to have actually been the shuriken. "This it the spot!" He bellowed, chucking his kunai straight towards Zabuza.

The kunai did its job by making Zabuza move out of the way and release the barrier that held Kakashi in order to avoid getting struck. Though, upon a closer look, you could see a small slit had opened under his eye. The water clone had also disappeared, as its caster had been caught in total shock. Good job, Naruto, Sasuke!

"You brat!" Zabuza roared, spinning the fuuma shuriken he held in his right hand and got ready to hurl it back at the blonde Genin. But, he was stopped by a figure who had finally rose from the water. This figure had placed his hand under one of the blades of the shuriken, drawing some blood, but kept it in place.

To the rescue was Kakashi, who addressed Zabuza with a fierce glare, before complimenting Naruto and all of us on how much we had improved in our skills and teamwork. More for Naruto and Sasuke on the teamwork, I would correct. Naruto recited a small explanation to everyone on what he had planned. Honestly, this was a part of anime/manga logic that I didn't get. While some person was just blabbering on future plans or what they'd just done, shouldn't their enemy take the opportunity to fuck shit up? Really off topic, but I thought I would mention it. Yuki and I spectated from the side and I felt slightly left out of the action.

Kakashi and Zabuza exchanged a few words, and the shuriken dug deeper into our sensei's hand. Being superior in strength allowed the silver-haired nin to easily push back to send the shuriken spiraling into the air.

The fight between the two Jounins ensued with Kakashi having the obvious advantage with his Sharingan. Both men performed the same hand signs at the same time with precision.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!" Again, said at the same time.

Bursting out of the water came two water dragons that spiraled around to attack the other.

And in came the huge ass tidal wave.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna placed their arms in front of themselves, bracing for impact. Sakura let out a girlish shriek of surprise. I had gotten to my feet and held onto the trunk of the tree; Yuki doing the same. We had managed to only get soaked below our knees.

"A little warning would've been appreciated," I muttered, trying to get the water out of my boots. Yuki weakly nodded in agreement, and slumped back down, head bobbing up in down unsteadily. When I managed to get the final droplet out, I sat my ass down again. I really wanted to get back into action having recovered my chakra slightly, though I couldn't abandon the now unconscious Yuki beside me. I took a side glance at her, and sure enough, her eyes were shut and her head hung limply.

The two of the water dragons being about equal in power had both collided only to dissolve back into the lake. A waterfall had erupted in the middle of the body of water with Zabuza and Kakashi at the epicenter. And damn, was that brute strength or what? Kakashi was holding back Zabuza's butcher sword with a kunai! A crappy measly kunai, nonetheless.

A tingly feeling went up my spine as I felt an unfamiliar chakra signal close by. I could tell Yuki had felt it too when she suddenly jerked awake, as if an unknown force had roused her. She whipped her head back and forth before directing her sight towards the trees above. The nearby branches held no occupants, though I didn't need to see to know who it was. His presence enough was signaling an end to this fight.

Zabuza had finally gotten tired with trying to slice Kakashi and took a step back; Kakashi doing the exact same. He placed his blade back on his back and Kakashi put away with his kunai. At this point, Zabuza finally took to realizing the real power of the Sharingan by circling the water a few times and Kakashi doing the exact same at the same time.

"He's copying his movements!" Tazuna commented. "And with such precise timing, too!"

"Eh? What is going on Sasuke-kun? How?" the Haruno asked the Uchiha, who gave no reply.

The swordsman began to speak, to which Kakashi helped him with by saying his last words out loud. Kakashi finished off another of Zabuza's lines as both started to make hand signs.

"You can't beat me, you fake!" came out from both Jounins' mouths, obviously at the same time, making one's eyes widen in shock.

"I'll end this once and for all and shut up that copycat mouth of yours!" Zabuza started off on a series of hand signs, but then stopped in confusion.

"Water Style: Grand Waterfall!" came from only Kakashi's mouth, not Zabuza's earning a "what?" from the other ninja.

A semicircle of water had formed around Kakashi and gradually built up to a spiral that send itself towards Zabuza. The Mist-nin was engulfed by the water that kept going, passing the lake and making a long distance impact with the ground.

Again, I took hold of the tree. I looked over to my left to find Yuki beginning to drift off with the current. What was she doing? Hastily, I grabbed her arm and waited for the surrounding water to subside.

As the remaining water started to calm down, I steadied Yuki against a tree and started to survey what was wrong with her. No doubt, she had passed out again from the force of all that water, plus her injuries. Her face had significantly paled from the last time I had glanced over at her. Thankfully, she was still alive, as uneven, shallow breaths came out every now and then. Shit, had that kick really done _that _much damage? Fuck, I better tell someone, we have to get to Tazuna's house right away. I propped her back up against the trunk and stepped out of the bushes, back to rejoin the rest.

I walked over to the fight at hand just in time to see two senbon needles sinking into Zabuza's neck. The ninja immediately collapsed down from his perch on the tree onto the grassy ground.

"The truth had been told. He really is dead," a voice stated from above; Haku. He was wearing a green haori with white trim tied together with a brown sash, striped Mist-nin inner attire, and a loose feminine-looking skirt. Concealing his face was a hunter-nin mask, the Kirigakure symbol etched onto the forehead. He remained on the branch across from the tree where Zabuza laid, long black fringe billowing in the cool breeze.

Kakashi jumped from his perch on a branch down to crouch over Zabuza. Every person around waited tensely to hear if the mysterious person's information had been true. He traced two fingers over his neck, feeling for a pulse. "He really _is _dead," he confirmed, surprised as he pulled back.

"Thank you. You have saved me a lot of trouble by dealing with Zabuza. I'd been waiting for the right time to kill him," Haku addressed to Kakashi with a small bow.

"That mask you're wearing… If I am remembering correctly, you must be one of Kirigakure's hunter-nin," Kakashi replied.

"Indeed, you are correct. You know quite a lot."

The blonde genin started to go on a barrage of questions aimed towards Haku that Kakashi put a stop to, ruffling Naruto's hair.

Haku disappeared in a small whirlwind of leaves and reappeared beside Zabuza, briefly explaining his intents before draping the rogue-nin over his shoulders and vanishing with the body.

Kakashi adjusted his headband back to its usual spot over his eye. Meanwhile, Naruto had moved over to where Zabuza's body had previously been, looking for Haku. In a few moments, he began a self-hurt session with the ground that Kakashi again, put a stop to.

"This mission isn't over just yet. We still need to bring Tazuna over to his house." Kakashi informed us.

"Kakashi-sensei?" I'd moved over to his right side, waiting to be noticed. I found myself surprised at how groggy and raspy my voice sounded.

"Hm? Sayu? Is there something you want to say?" Kakashi regarded me with his one visible eye.

"Yeah. You see, Yuki took quite the beating, earlier. I don't know if you saw, but…" I turned my body over a bit and pointed towards the paling figure, leaning against the tree. "Anyway, she passed out some time ago and we-"

Those were the last few words that came out of my mouth before I blacked out and collapsed to the ground.

**A/N: Gah, late update again! So sorry guys, but this probably is going to be the new update schedule; every three days. I know, it's crap, but I really do not have as much time to spare anymore. I hope I haven't disappointed you guys too much. School has really been messing with me. Sorry again! Please review, favorite, follow, and I guess I'll see you guys next chapter, whenever that may be. See you!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of its characters, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Though, we do own our OCs.**

**Chapter 11: Shenanigans with Kakashi**

**Yukiko**

I awoke in an old, wooden cabin that smelled, quite literally, fishy. I brought a lazy hand up to my face to rub the sleep out of my eye as I prepared to get ready for the morning. Dragging myself up, I folded up the futon I had been sleeping in and slipped it into the cabinet in the corner of the room. I then strapped on my ninja sandals that were standing in the opposite corner. Once I was satisfied with my appearance, I decided to finally survey the room. Towards the back of the room was a small table with a dresser that had a few boxes placed on the top. There wasn't much to the room, and the flooring was relatively plain like the walls. I was probably somewhere in Tazuna's house.

There was no longer any pain residing near my ribs or stomach, and I wasn't coughing anymore, so I summed up that I was okay, for now at least. A glance to my right, and I barely noticed Sayu in a futon similar to mine, her figure mostly hidden under the mass of blankets with only her face peeking out. Her soft breathing was even and she looked a bit worn out, even in her sleep, her dark hair frazzled and splayed wildly against the white of the pillow. I decided to spare her any more misery, so I pulled up her blanket to keep her warm and left her where she laid.

And, past her, why, who was laying there? The one and only Hatake Kakashi. An evil, cruel thought shot through my mind and a automatic smirk pulled at my lips.

I creeped my way over to his side and plopped down, careful not to rouse the two slumbering ninja. A few tense seconds passed where I contemplated my plan of action. There was no need to worry, I still had more than enough time to initiate my Plan B. Anyone would've thought I was being a good little girl by not bothering Kakashi while he read and that the little talk I had with him made me "understand" him. Nope, wrong. I'd been planning this ever since the start of the boat ride and here was my chance!

Now, to think, where did he _usually _put it? Not in his pockets. His leg pouch? No…his vest! I tugged the covers down to below the oblivious nin's torso, which caused him to stir a little. Oh shit. Don't wake up! Don't wake up!

A sigh of relief escaped my lips, as the Sharingan user draped an arm lazily over his head and continued to snore, showing no signs of awaking. Yes, _snore. _For a minute, I hovered my hand just over Kakashi's chest. The next part of my plan was vital, and fuck no, I was _not _going to mess it up. The silver-haired ninja started to shift a bit, and admittedly, my feet were starting to fall asleep. Probably another five minutes or so passed before he settled back down in one position.

Now or never! It was obvious that the Jounin would be waking _very_ soon. Gradually, I inched my finger closer to his vest unzipped it about halfway in a slow, but smooth movement. My right hand scouted the underside of the left side of the vest. Nothing there. I drifted off to the other side. A few pats proved to no avail. Shit! It's not there either. I then came across the corner of something really thick, something like a book.

Wait, what was that? Curiosity killed the cat as I poked around, almost forgetting the sleeping man I was practically feeling up. To my surprise, I found a small _secret _compartment. It had been concealed on the upper corner of the vest and had been covered with some kind of camouflaged material. Of course! Obviously, the great Hatake Kakashi had some tricks up his sleeve. Without enough attention, one would've just overlooked it as part of the vest itself. Bringing up the cover material, I brought out what I had been looking for.

"Heh! This will be a good bribing prop to use against Kakashi later! Maybe I can get him to treat me to some ramen. Damn, I am definitely going to have some at Ichiraku's once we get back." The zipper of the vest was pulled all the way back up. If I was going to do a job and get caught, I could at least spare myself trouble of not making it too obvious.

My hands were shaking as I began to pull back the cover of "Icha Icha Paradise". What the heck?! Why was I nervous? Kakashi wasn't going to wake until a few minutes from now. That was it! _It _was just my nerves from a soon to be awake Kakashi.

"Staying here is probably not a good idea anyway. I better keep a distance." I whispered to myself, my voice almost inaudible, even to me.

Kakashi shifted and his hand drifted about an inch away from my crossed leg. Yup. Abort! Abort! In a haste, I jumped to my feet with the orange book in hand, careful to conceal my footsteps as I tiptoed my way to the door. Just as I had grazed the door handle, a lazy voice was heard from behind me.

"Yukiko."

Crap! Should've known that he would wake as soon as I got up. I gulped, my mouth drying out. I shakily spun around to meet Kakashi's sleepy, yet judging stare. He hunched over in his futon, analyzing my every move from the door. I sheepishly conjured up a very guilty looking grin and shoved the orange book behind the small of my back.

"Yo, Kakashi! Heh, glad to see you awake. Are you feeling better?" I did my best to sound as inconspicuous and innocent as possible.

"Yeah, I'm fine. A better question is, what are you doing with my book?"

"Uh, what book? I totally have no book, much less your book." I slyly slipped the book into my back pouch and brought my open palms out to show him.

"I know you took it, Namikaze Yukiko. Now, you better explain yourself," The silver-haired sensei folded his arms to show that he was still not convinced by my little white lie.

At that moment, I had an epiphany; a lovely "why didn't I think of that before" epiphany. What was I doing? Kakashi had overused his Sharingan quite a lot in the recent battle meaning that he couldn't move much. So, what the fuck was I still doing here? A relieved grin spread across my face told Kakashi something was definitely wrong.

"Is there something amusing you would like to share with me? Because I would really like to get my book back."

"Eh? For the last time, Kakashi-sensei, I don't have your book. You're seeing things 'cuz you're so tired. Now if you'll excuse me." I turned back around and opened the door. Stepping out, I could feel him glaring holes into my back. I knew he wouldn't be able to get up to do anything though I did not dare turn around to meet the gaze of an intimidating Hatake Kakashi. "I'm going to go eat something now. In the meantime you should get some more rest, sensei! See ya!" And with that, I slammed the door closed in his face and shot out of the house, almost bumping into a startled Uchiha passing by in the front yard.

* * *

"Oh my fucking god. What is with this book?" I muttered to nobody in particular, flipping through the pages of "Icha Icha Paradise". The water below the boardwalk was sparkling, and my sandals grazed over the surface, creating ripples that disrupted the calm and tranquility of it all. I'd found a great spot for some reading with a view of the sunset, too. I was all the way at the complete edge of a boardwalk, a good ten minutes away from land. It had been some time since I liberated Kakashi of his orange porn book. To my surprise, nobody had come to drag me back into the house yet to give the fuming sensei answers. The Rikudou Sennin was probably smiling down on me now, causing this miracle.

"Having a bit too much fun, aren't you?" a voice bellowed in my ear. It erupted from the deep depths of my brain and sounded like it was booming from all directions.

I shot up and whipped my head around wildly, looking for a Kakashi, or anyone that the voice could have belonged to. There was nobody in sight besides a few women here and there, tending to their own business in there gardens and I highly doubted it was them. I must be hearing things.

"Back to where I was..." I flipped the pages to where I had been reading earlier, skimming over the smutty parts. Okay, so I only needed the mushy, confession scenes for now. Believe me, I tried reading a smutty part, and oh my fucking shit. I would save it for a time where I would need Kakashi to save me from some lifetime debt or something. I refuse to ruin my poor _innocent _mind with those sex scenes.

"Ahem. _Manami's cerulean eyes gazed up into Takashi's deep black orbs, losing herself in them. 'Ta-Takashi?'" _

"'_Yes?'" _

"'_We-well,' the recently titled Jounin stuttered. 'The very first day you helped me with my jutsus, I fell madly in love with you. And, from that day that love has only grown. I want to know, do you feel the same, or will you just throw my feelings to the side?' Manami stepped closer to her tutor, closing the distance in one stride, leaving inches apart between each other's lips."_

"'_Manami… You should know that...' The ANBU tilted the mask that hung precariously over his head. Small shuffling sounds were heard and then Takashi was leaning in for-_"

"What are you doing here?" a familiar voice questioned from behind me. Oh shi-

Looking back revealed the voice to belong to the one and only Uchiha Sasuke. He had on a curious look on his face, and was making an attempt to lean forward to see exactly what I was up to.

"How is it any of your business, Uchiha?" I stood up and hid the book behind my back, much to the annoyance of the Uchiha.

"Hn. It's not."

"That's what I thought. So, do you mind getting out of my way? I'm going to go eat something."

"Shouldn't you have eaten already? Kakashi told me that you went to eat breakfast a while ago."

"Ka-Kakashi?" I faltered trying to say the name in a calm tone. Way to give yourself away, Yukiko.

"Hn. He told me to get you." Sasuke narrowed his eyes, catching on that I had certainly done _something_.

"Er, I really am dying to eat something. Move." I made an attempt to shove aside the duck-ass hair-styled Genin, but he didn't budge. Was he a boulder or something? Shit. "I'm warning you. You better get out of the way, now."

No response. Only a piercing onyx gaze. My lips tightened as I regarded him with a look of distaste.

"Fine. Have it your way." I placed the orange book on a nearby barrel, causing Sasuke to look past me at it in interest. Better not get it wet, or else Kakashi _would_ probably kill me. "If you-" I took a step backward, knowing very well that I would land in the water and catch Sasuke off guard.

"Gah!" I made a fake attempt to flail my arms around to look for something to grab on before I fell backwards, making a huge splash, no doubt soaking even the Uchiha on the deck. Cue the over dramatized, fake struggling and screams. "HELP! I can't swim! HELP!" I sank a little lower to make the false pretense that I was starting to drown.

Sasuke, bewildered, swiftly crouched down and stretched out a hand for me to take. He fell for it! I propelled myself upward and latched onto his hand, and as he began pulling me out of the water, I forcefully yanked him down and used the momentum heave myself back onto the boardwalk.

Another splash was heard behind me. I took my time in squeezing out most of the water from my clothes before turning around to see an irked Sasuke. For a minute, he tried to get back up but realized that he was defeated when the distance between his outstretched fingers and the edge of the boardwalk was a clear five feet. Too bad he hadn't mastered chakra control, or else he would've easily been able to get himself out of his predicament.

"Crap, Sasuke! I just thought that you would've wanted to take a dip in the water too. Here, let me lend you a hand," I stretched out my arm and left my right hand out for him to take. He glared suspiciously at me, knowing that I was not to be trusted. Hesitantly, he raised his right hand to grab mine. And, I received another glare when I pulled my hand back at the last second.

"Actually, why don't you stay there for a bit? I have some reading to do, and you'll probably be a bother. You don't mind, do you?" I didn't wait for a reply, though I'm pretty sure there was one, with cursing involved. Walking over to the barrel, I picked up "Icha Icha Paradise" and sat myself crisscross applesauce style in front of Sasuke. Then, I began reading to myself, silently this time.

* * *

Another ten minutes had passed before I concluded that I had enough information for now. I would give it back…eventually. Most likely, when we get back to Konohagakure. The cover of "Icha Icha Paradise" was folded back and placed into my back pouch. Just as I was about to walk away, a "hn" came from the water. Oh, forgot about him.

I turned around, all smiles, to my irate, shivering teammate. Shit. I'd left him in there too long, wouldn't want him to be catching a cold. "Eh. Sorry, Sasuke. Kinda forgot about you, you see. I gotta go now, so I will bring Sakura over here. She will be happy to help you." Sasuke's eyes flickered in distress upon hearing "Sakura". 'Anyone _but _Sakura' were what his eyes told me. Sorry old chap, but Sakura it is. "Bye, Sasuke! I'll get her right away!"

With my back turned, I walked away. I heard the Uchiha mutter a few words to himself. Woah, so he was becoming crazy. I don't know if that's good or bad. For some darn reason, I felt a heat coming closer and closer to my back. Wait… That must mean-

I barely had enough time to duck before a small fireball flew by where my head had been previously. What. The. Fuck. Luck was in favor, as the fireball had just caught onto a barrel that I used a simple Wind Style technique on to blow into the water and extinguish the fire.

I twirled back around to retrace my steps to the source of the burning inferno that had been sent my way.

"SASUKE! YOU IDIOT! Why'd you do that for?! I could've gotten killed!" The Genin just floated there, an obvious smirk on his features. "Oh, you think this is funny? Bastard! Shit, I gotta go get Sakura. See ya, you ass!" With a "tch", I whirled back around and started for the house, but not before a thought struck me. Why hadn't Sasuke just swam back to shore? Sure, it would've taken him a while, but better than waiting for someone to come and save him. I concluded that he was probably waiting for ME to help him out, to see if I would actually leave him there. I pushed the thought to the back of my head and decided to pay no more attention to it as I raced back to shore, Sasuke's exasperated groan being the last thing I heard.

* * *

It didn't take long to find the pinkette, who was lingering outside Kakashi's room.

"Yuki! There you are! Kakashi's been waiting for you! He even sent poor Sasuke-kun to go get you!" Her tone in the last few words was one of rage, having lost precious time in which she could've spent with her "precious Sasuke-kun". She did a quick scan around, not finding her hopeless crush anywhere within the vicinity. "Where's Sasuke-kun? Shouldn't he be with you?"

"Hm? The Uchiha?" I put a hand on my hip and and my right index finger on my chin, in a fake trail of thought, "Oh, yeah. Well, Sasuke found me out on the boardwalk and for some crazy ass reason, he just jumped into the water, told me he 'just wanted to take a dip in the water'. I tried, seriously, I did try to get him out, but he refused to take my hand. He asked specifically for his 'precious Sakura-chan' to help him. So-" A pink blur shoved past me, off in a hurry to save her love. She looked about ready to burst from "Sasuke's indirect love confession". My work here was done; I just wished I could see Sasuke's face when he would hear about his "undying love for Sakura".

Time to get prepared for the shit ahead. Taking deep, hopefully calm breaths, I dug my hand into my pocket and gently opened the door.

Kakashi was in the same position he'd been when I had slammed the door in his face.

"Ah. So you're finally back. I sent Sasuke to go look for you. Took quite some time, but as long as you are here…" Kakashi pulled the covers to fit more comfortably around his torso. "Now, about my book-"

"SAYU!" I screamed out ecstatically, finding one way out of the situation. She was sitting in a position similar to Kakashi's, but was drinking a cup o' tea, it seemed. I rushed over to sit down on her right. "You're finally awake! What a relief! What happened to you?"

"I'm fine. Just passed out from chakra exhaustion. That last jutsu I used, you know…" She took another sip of her drink and I nodded. I'd already known the answer to my own question; I was the one after all who'd given her the katana. I simply needed more time to think of an excuse for Kakashi. My fingers started to fidget with a thread that had began dangling from my red sash.

Sayu noticed this obviously nervous gesture and raised a question to fill in the silence, before Kakashi would. "Hey, so how did we get here anyway? Yuki was passed out and I think I fainted shortly after that hunter-nin left."

All attention went to Naruto, who had been, shockingly, sitting quietly in a corner of the room. "Heh. Well...," Naruto laced his hands together, placing them behind his back. This was a familiar gesture that Sayu and I recognized from many times in the anime. "After Sayu blacked out, we tried to wake her up, and then Kakashi-sensei blacked out too. Sakura-chan told us 'they're probably exhausted, let's bring them to Tazuna's to rest'. We found Yuki-chan at the tree Sayu pointed at. It took us a while, but we all decided on who would be carrying who back to the house."

"Me and Tazuna helped to bring Kakashi-sensei. Sakura-chan hit me on the head…" Naruto grimaced at that, rubbing a spot on his head. "...when I told her to carry Yuki, so she carried Sayu. And Yuki got carried by Sasuke."

"ME? CARRIED BY HIM?!" I looked over to Naruto, to make sure that I'd heard right. "Did he say anything about it? Actually, he's always so quiet in his emo state. Er, so did he?"

He nodded twice to answer my both questions, "I think he said something about you snoring really loudly, and that it hurt his ears."

"..." Sayu burst into laughter and Kakashi wore a small smile.

"You really do snore loudly you know," Sayu choked out, still in her laugh session. "I had to deal with it for a whole year once, on max volume. I had baggy eyes all 365 days of that year…"

This observation earned more laughter from my teammate and Kakashi, and Naruto had joined in too.

"Okay. That's enough about-" My sentence was interrupted when the remaining two of Team 7 walked in, one of them dripping wet and leaving muddy footprints across the tatami mat.

"Kakashi-sensei! I found Sasuke swimming outside in the water. Do you think he might have a cold or something?" Her tone was one of worry, but I noticed one thing missing. Where was the honorific for Sasuke? Oh, shit. So, what I had told Sakura actually worked. Damn, now I really wished I'd seen what happened. My conclusion was confirmed when Sakura and Sasuke both simultaneously shot their own glares at me.

"Hm. He should be fine." Kakashi eyed Sasuke, most likely wondering how he had gotten into his current state. "Why don't you go get washed up, Sasuke? You're making a…mess."

Sasuke made no comment as he walked out of the room, no doubt angry that he was being convicted of making the mess. He tossed back one glare at me, the cause of his little problem, and then hurried off.

Though, now with Sakura here, she kept Kakashi busy with her worried comments about his health, telling him not to use his Sharingan too much. I silently thanked her for that. If I was lucky, he wouldn't ask me about his book again until we finished this mission.

Kakashi had looked me over, telling me that I certainly had no internal bleeding, when Sayu questioned him about it. Sayu demanded why I had told her about my "internal bleeding" earlier in the fight, and I told her the truth. I'd just been messing with her. For a short time after that, she continued to knock me about the head and threatened me that if I ever did something like that again, she would castrate me.

I promised her I wouldn't; she didn't see my crossed fingers behind my back.

* * *

**Sayuri**

Shortly after Sasuke came back, Kakashi started his lecture on hunter-nin that Yuki and I blanked out on. Some of the people in the room were surprised at the news of Zabuza still being alive, except, I use the line again, two certain nin and Kakashi and Sasuke. Add another Kakashi lecture, and my eyes were starting to glaze over.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you going to do to prepare in time? You certainly won't be able to move for a while," Sakura inquired.

A laugh emerged from Kakashi's throat and earned an irked expression from Sakura. "I am going to put you guys through some training."

"Why? It's not going to help us any. If someone as strong as you with the Sharingan can't beat Zabuza-"

"Sakura, I ask you, who saved me when Zabuza kept me trapped in that barrier? You five have grown and are continuing to at a rapid rate. Especially you, Naruto. You're the one that has grown the most." Signal Kakashi's handsome smile. Was that drool I spotted on Yuki's face?

"Yeah! Kakashi's right! You've really improved Naruto! I'm proud of you! You're going to get an Ichiraku-style all-you-can-eat buffet of ramen, once we get back to Konohagakure!" Yuki placed an arm around Naruto, pulling him into a half-hug. Naruto was all smiles after that.

"Eh? Really Yuki? Are you sure…" Team 7 was caught by surprise. Was Uzumaki Naruto making an attempt to turn down ramen? "You've seen me eat at Ichiraku's before, so it might be a lot of mon-"

"No! It's fine!" Yuki moved her left hand to pat down Naruto's head, messing up his hair. "It will be courtesy of Ka-erm…me! Hahahaha…." She moved her hand from Naruto's head, and placed it behind her neck, trying to look innocent. Wasn't she about to say…?

"Hey, Yuki!" I waved my hand over by Yuki's face to grab her attention.

"Huh? What is it?"

"Weren't you about to say Kaka-mrmphh," Yuki had moved frantically over to my side and smacked her hand over my mouth. WHAT THE HELL?

"Hahahaha…! Sayu! Don't listen to anything she says. She's still a little delirious from the fight with Zabuza. Right, Sayu?" She gave me a creepy ass look and I nodded. As long as she moves her damn hand from my mouth. The hand was drawn back and placed onto its owner's lap.

"Okay! Now that that's settled… Uh, Naruto you got anything to say?" My little friend moved drifted back to Naruto's left side and sat down. I made a mental note to ask her what the fuck happened back there.

"Kakashi-sensei really knows his stuff! Heh, finally, things are getting interesting!" Naruto stated joyfully, raising both his fists to his chest.

"No, it's not," a soft voice declared. Tazuna's grandson, Inari, stood in the doorway. He was clad in brown sandals that had small belt buckles attached onto the top. Green overalls that I guessed reached to just a little below his knees was his main attire, and under was a beige turtleneck. His hat resembled the shape of a lampshade with two horizontal blue stripes.

I have a little confession to make. I hate this kid. And, no I don't hate little kids, because I was sitting around with a bunch right now.

"Inari! You're finally here!" Tazuna welcomed the boy with open arms.

"Grandpa! I'm home!" The kid ran over to his granddad to place one of his arms around him in a half-hug.

"Inari, please say hello to them. They are the ones who helped bring grandpa home safely," his mom, Tsunami gestured over to us.

Inari scanned his eyes over us with the most emotionless eyes that was on par with Sasuke's emo eyes. That was saying something.

"Mom, they're definitely going to die. Nobody can go against Gatoh and win." Inari moved out of the old drunkard's embrace to stand in front of his mother.

"Say that again, brat!" Naruto got up indignantly to point a finger at the little boy. "Hear this. I'm a hero that is going to grow to become a great ninja known as Hokage." He moved his finger back to roll his hand into a fist, "Whoever this Gatoh is, he's no match to me or an enemy of mine."

"Hero? That's stupid. There's no such things as heroes," Inari spat out, that look in his eyes again. This, my friends, was reason numero uno why I hated this kid.

"Wh-what did you just say-?!" Naruto's eyes changed to show his disbelief. He'd gotten up and was about ready to charge at the kid, but Sakura held him back.

"If you value your lives, go home." Then, the snotty little brat opened the door, telling Tazuna that he was off to see the ocean.

"Sorry about that, everyone," Tazuna apologized.

"Grr, lemme go Sakura-chan. I gotta go teach that brat a thing or two." Naruto struggled in Sakura's weirdly iron grasp.

"Hm. Leave him alone, Naruto. He's going through a…phase, to say." Yuki, of all people had been the one to say it, glaring at Sakura to let go of Naruto. She did.

"H-how did you know that?" Tsunami asked Yuki, bewildered that she would be able to know about Inari from just one encounter. Everyone else seemed to wanted to know, too, leaning in ever closer to the nervous Genin.

"Haha. I just guessed?" Nobody looked convinced, but let it slide.

Naruto took the little distraction to slip past Sakura and stormed out of the room, after Inari.

And no one stopped him.

**A/N: Hey! Longer chapter for you guys here today. I realize that this posting schedule means I gotta post a little more than usual for you guys. This chapter is little more chill, being that the past few were mostly action. We're nearing the end of this story's test run, which means I'm running out of material to post. So, after all our test run chapters are posted, we'll have to make a decision on whether or not we're continuing the story. I'm, to be honest, not very sure on how I want the story to progress. I know for a fact this it's going to be quite lengthy and that I'm planning on making it AU down further in the plot, but I don't have the all the details planned out. But, it all depends on your support to keep the story going. If there's a sufficient amount of reviews and desire for the story to continue, then perhaps we'll keep it going. I really do not want to drop this fanfic, seeing how much work we've put into this so far, but again, I don't feel the need to continue on if it's not getting much attention in the first place. So, all in all, if you guys REALLY want to see more, please PLEASE make sure to review and favorite. But yeah, I guess that's all. See you guys next chapter! BYE!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of its characters, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Though, we do own our OCs.**

**Chapter 12: Chakra Training...Or Is It Chatra?**

**Yukiko**

"Now, we will start the training."

Team 7 had gathered in a familiar forest clearing that I recognized from the anime. The weather was not too hot, and not too cold; just perfect for a training day. The birds were chirping, the crickets were cricketing, and now it was time for the ninjas to be ninja-ing. Yes, I just made up a new word. Or, was that word a word already…? Er, nevermind. Anywho, today was _that_ day; the day to show off my Level: _Boss_ skills.

"First. I will have to inform you all again of the importance of chakra, the base of ability for a ninja."

"Please, Kakashi-sensei, can you spare us our sanity? I almost went brain-dead at the last lecture session you gave us. We've already learned all this stuff at the Ninja Academy," Sayu yawned, adjusting her obi to look "just right". Woah. When did Sayu's snarky/sarcastic comments make a comeback? I'd missed them dearly.

"Hn. We _did_ learn a lot about chakra in school," Sasuke added to Sayu's argument with a nod.

"Yeah! Yeah! I already know about that! It's.. uh… chatra, right?" Naruto inquired, sure that he was right. Sayu chucked and facepalmed, amused. I gave him a pat on the back; at least he tried.

"It's chakra," Kakashi corrected, hanging his head in disappointment. He perked up soon afterward and gestured a hand over to Sakura. "Now, won't you take over for me, Sakura?"

Prompt Sakura and Kakashi's lectures that I tuned out of. I know enough about chakra, or at least I think I do…

"What are we going to do?" That was Sakura.

"Hm." Kakashi tapped his index finger on his chin. "Climb a tree."

"Climb a tree?!" we all asked in unison, even Sasuke. And, Sayu and I had to not look suspicious, so we joined in on the act.

"Yes, that's right. But this will be no ordinary tree climbing. You will have to climb without the use of your hands. Just watch." Kakashi performed a hand seal that created a ring of dust at his feet before disappearing.

He walked over to a nearby tree, with the crutches that Tsunami had found for him in a closet. We all watched in anticipation as he placed a foot on the trunk of the tree. Our sensei took his time to strut up the tree to hang backwards under a branch. I'd been biting my tongue to hold in my laughter. A look over told me that Sayu had been doing the same. A guy in crutches was just casually walking up the tree and defying gravity like it was the most normal thing ever.

"That's how. Gather a steady amount of chakra at the bottom of your feet and run up the trunk of the tree. Chakra usage will make this possible, though you have to make sure you direct your chakra to the soles of your feet at all times." Kakashi instructed. "Lecturing to you all won't change much. I need you all to learn it with your bodies, to gain some experience." He'd brought out three kunai and launched them in front of Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke's feet. He brought out another pair and threw these two down at our feet.

"Use that kunai to mark off how far you are able to get up the tree with your current ability. Try to make marks above that mark. None of you are experienced enough to climb by walking, so start off at a run to give yourselves a boost. Got it?"

"I do, Kakashi-sensei, but I won't be needing this." I yanked the kunai out from the ground and threw it back at the jounin. He was able to catch it before it hit his one visible eye. I reached into my pouch to bring out the one kunai I'd cleaned of the poison to use for today.

Apparently, it was the first time that Kakashi actually paid attention to the shape of the kunai I held in my hand, and his eyes flashed in recognition. Just as he was about to say something, Naruto picked up his kunai from the ground to state of all of us that this exercise was far too easy for him.

"Okay, be quiet. Just try to climb up any one of the trees," Kakashi instructed, not impressed by Naruto's little scene.

We all performed the hand sign, gathering chakra at out feet. Once we made sure we had a steady flow going, we all charged towards the trees, wearing expressions of determination and concentration. Naruto, being the most eager one of the group, ended up trekking up a mere two feet. Sasuke made it pretty high up the tree before making an indentation in the wood and leaving a mark with his kunai. I raced up the tree that was to the right of Naruto's. I'd made it to about the same distance that Sasuke had accomplished, just one feet higher, and I made my mark.

Looking around, I found that Sayu had made it almost all the way, stopping short only two feet from the top branch. She slashed at the bark and flipped back down, clearly not pleased with her performance. Okay, so my best friend that I just spent the most of my life with, doing the relatively same things had just beat me to the chase. I was fine with that. Another try and I bet she would make it.

To the farther right, Sakura had just made her way up the tree, swinging her legs over a branch. She stuck out her tongue mockingly and looked down upon us like she was goddess of the world. Now that's just rubbing it in.

"Oh? It seems that two of the girls, Sayu and Sakura, are the best at controlling their chakra," Kakashi observed.

"Wow, Sakura-chan! Just what I expected from the girl of my dreams!" Naruto shouted back to Sakura. Way to feed her ego.

"You'll definitely make it up the next try!" I waved over to Sayu, who gave me a thumbs-up.

"Damn it," Sasuke muttered.

Sakura looked disappointed, not receiving the compliment she hoped she would've from Sasuke. Time to mess with them two…

"Eh? Sakura, maybe you should've waited until Sasuke made it up all the way the tree, then go. You seemed to have burned his poor ego."

Sakura just sat there reeling from my outburst, but Sasuke glared kunai at me. Heck, he was creeping me out. I guess he still wasn't over the boardwalk incident. Maybe I should lay off messing with him for a while. No promises here.

"Both of your knowledge of chakra is superior, but it's not only that. The control of it and stamina levels you two maintain is good as well. Sayu, you'll make it up in no time." Kakashi noted. "Possibly Sayu and Sakura are closer to becoming Hokage, right now, than a certain someone. The power of the Uchiha isn't as great as I thought it to be, either. And, maybe a particular someone should stop poking fun at his or her teammates and start asking one for help?" I'm pretty fucking sure that that was meant for me.

Naruto and Sasuke had a staredown, probably each thinking that they weren't going to let the other get to the top first. Sasuke took a brief second to glare at me and added me into his competition. Okay, if he wanted it that way, bring it.

* * *

**Sayuri**

I made it up the tree on my second try, just like Yuki and Kakashi predicted. It wasn't as hard as it looked, like in the anime. I pretty much just concentrated real hard at my feet and just blindly sprinted up the tree. Yuki was doing pretty well too, having surpassed both Naruto and Sasuke on her first try. A little practice, and she'll be up in no time.

All five us continued to practice getting up the tree; me and Sakura also to get a better feel for it. The other three were slowly improving, getting higher and higher up the tree each try. After a good twenty or so attempts, all of us were burned out. I sat in the grass, huffing heavily as I tried to catch my breath, kunai discarded over to the side. Yuki sprawled herself flat on the ground, face first. Naruto and Sasuke still looked somewhat in good condition, spare the dirt and bruises accumulating on their bodies.

"I'm gonna take a break, if that's fine with you guys," I murmured and raced up the tree with a last burst of energy onto the top branch, where I plopped down and leaned against the trunk, recovering from my fatigue.

Naruto finally realized he was going nowhere and walked over to ask Sakura for some tips. Sasuke looked over, curious as to what Sakura was telling his blonde nemesis.

Out of nowhere, four kunai flew through the air. One landed near Naruto and Sakura; the other two at Sasuke and Kakashi's feet. Another had landed itself a little off from my feet. "Woah! You can get a really good view from up here! Especially of the duck-butt and pinkette fangirl!"

All heads swiveled over to the tree at the edge of the clearing. Yuki was hanging upside down on a branch, a wide grin on her face. The kunai she'd been using to make her marks was dug into the branch of the tree.

"Yuki made it up the tree!" Naruto declared, happy for his friend, but also a little disappointed that she was ahead of him in the training.

"Good job, Yuki!" Kakashi offered a genuine smile, raising a hand up to his tilted forehead to get a good look at Yuki.

Naruto's attention turned back to Sakura and continued to converse with her for more tips. Yuki gave Kakashi a thumbs-up for his praise.

After, Kakashi gestured for both Yuki and I to get down with a swipe of his palm. Seemed like he had something to tell us.

I leapt down the tree, and Yuki got down about halfway before jumping off to land in a crouched position. We walked over to our sensei, who'd just finished conversing with Sakura. She began to walk off, wishing her "Sasuke-kun" good luck before leaving.

"Now, I need you two to follow Sakura and help to protect Tazuna while he works on the bridge." Kakashi clapped his hands together. "You've both mastered this exercise, so if will be fine if you leave."

"Kakashi-sensei, do you mind if we stay? I think Yuki could use some more training. She only made it up once, and it would be good procedure for her to practice more and get the hang of it. I'll stay to give her some tips." Yuki looked infuriated that I'd requested that she get more help. She was about to disagree with me when I discreetly nudged her on the arm, telling her I actually had another intention.

Yuki took a second to compute my actions, then gave a nod to Kakashi.

"Hm. I guess a little practice wouldn't hurt. If you two don't mind helping Sasuke and Naruto when you're done, it's fine with me."

"We would love to help Naruto and Sasuke, right Yuki?"

"Uh, yeah. Helping Naruto…I'm fine with-ack!" I nudged her harder on the arm, telling her to cut it out. "Of course! I'm fine with helping Naruto...and Sasuke."

"Then, it's settled. You two have a good time!" Kakashi raised his hand in farewell, and began walking back to Tazuna's house.

* * *

It was getting late, and the two genin below us were getting worn out. Yuki and I added in our own tips here and then, while we had our own side conversations.

"Remember you two! Try not to have any feelings of anger, don't get too excited, just stay calm, in peace!" Yuki shouted down to the two boys, after yet again, another failed attempt. "Naruto! Don't think about ramen or Sakura! Sasuke! Don't think about me or your bro- Just don't think about me!"

Naruto uttered a "yes" and Sasuke looked peeved with just the thought of Yuki.

"Great save...not. You're lucky Sasuke's too tired to catch what you said." A pair of eyes glared at me, then looked away."Hm. Doesn't telling them not to think about those things make people think about them more?" I inquired my friend who was curled up beside me on the highest branch of a tree.

"Eh? It's fine. They'll figure it out. Hehe…" Yuki scratched her head, finding the fault in her tip.

"Well…now that they're busy again..." I stretched out a hand towards the two genin. "Do you mind explaining what happened this morning?"

"That's why you wanted us to stay." Yuki looked like she'd just been caught in a trap.

"So? What happened?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Don't mess around with me. I know you did something to Kakashi."

"Er. No I didn't." Yuki looked down, now deeply interested with the progress the boys were making.

"Yes. You did. It's written all over your face. Now spill the beans."

"Even if I did…" She directed her eyes to make eye contact with mine. "Which I didn't, how would you even know? Or, suspect anything?"

"Hm. Let me think a little back…," I started to tap my fingers on the branch. "I woke up and Kakashi looked beyond angry. His chakra levels were on par of when we were in the fight with Zabuza. I have never seen him so mad, not even in the…you know." Yuki nodded.

"Anyway, he kept trying to get up, but thankfully Tsunami was there to keep him down. At one point, she had to call in Naruto to help keep him in place. He cooled down a bit after that. You should be thankful, too. I can bet that if you walked in when he was like that, he would've jumped you. Now, what in the hell did you do to make him mad?"

Yuki sighed, realizing that she had nothing to say to all the evidence I had against her.

"Nothing major. I just took something. That's all."

"Something? Is it something that belonged to Kakashi?" A nod.

"A kunai?" No reply.

"Um…" I thought of what else the silver haired jounin would have on his person, "Shuriken? Money?" Still no reply.

A sudden strike of realization hit me. One of the most precious things that Kakashi always had with him. Oh, she better not have taken _that._

"Did you take something...possibly a book?" A short pause and then a nod. Finally, I was getting somewhere.

"Was the title of this book, 'Icha Icha Paradise'?" No reply. "Namikaze Yukiko, you better answer me right now, before I send your lifeless corpse down to the ground."

"Yea…hehe…" Yuki slid away from me to lean against further against the side of the tree.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" I shrieked, sending Yuki flinching and almost flying backwards out of the tree. I had no idea my voice could hit that octave. Sasuke and Naruto glanced up in surprise, this being the first time they ever heard me shout so loudly. "Sorry, you two… Please continue." They turned away with furrowed eyebrows and resumed making their marks again on their trees.

"You. Did. What?" I laced venom into each word, making Yuki back away even more.

"Don't you already know? Why do I need to tell you again?" Yuki started to fidget with a frayed thread on her top.

"I don't know if I know. I just thought of asking again to make sure that I wasn't going insane, unlike a certain someone who might have already became so this morning."

Yuki exhaled a sigh of defeat. "Sheesh. I'm not getting out of this, so may as well tell you the truth."

"Good."

"So, yes. I did take Kakashi's 'Icha Icha Paradise' book this morning. In fact, I still have it with me." She reached behind herself and then brought out an orange book.

"You still have it?! Why didn't you give it back?" I rubbed my eyes, still in disbelief of what my friend held in her hand.

"For your information, there weren't really any opportunities to just place it somewhere where Kakashi would stumble upon it, and even if there was, he'd obviously be suspicious as to how it got there. And, if I gave him the book, that would just be admitting that I was the one who took it. Nope, I'm not going to do that, if you wanted to know. It would've messed up my plans."

"Plans? What plans?"

"You see, I was planning to use what I read from the book against Kakashi, so that he would buy me ramen."

I shook my head in exasperation. "You went through all that shit so that you could blackmail Kakashi into buying you ramen?"

"Yup. Yup. Yup."

"..."

"Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay," I looked down and started to watch the boys. Sasuke had made a lot of progress, Naruto trailing behind by a far distance. Both looked at the other, anger flashing in their eyes from the amount of growth the other had made. Sasuke's glare was- Wait… I had forgotten something really important.

"Yuki?" My best friend looked over to me, waiting for what I had to say. "Sasuke's been sending you a lot of glares ever since he came into Tazuna's house….muddy and drenched. Did you by any chance have anything to do with that?"

Yuki spilled the rest of the beans, plus the enchiladas, in recollecting the past morning's events.

"So, you're telling me that you pulled Uchiha Sasuke into the water, and to add onto that, you pretty much told Haruno Sakura that Sasuke liked her before sending her off to save him? Is that correct?"

"Yeah. Now-"

"Now..." I draped an arm over Yuki's shoulders. "Now, you've pretty much ruined any opportunity of getting along with anyone. Good job."

"Hey! It's goin-"

I retracted my arm and put my hand in front of Yuki's face, stopping her from saying anymore.

"I'm heading back." I got up and brushed off invisible dust particles from my clothes.

"You stay here...," I added on when Yuki had started to get up too. "And watch over Naruto and Sasuke. See you." I walked down the tree and then proceeded back to Tazuna's house, leaving a befuddled Yuki up on the tree.

* * *

Being in a peaceful environment allowed me to sort out my thoughts. The only probable solution to Yuki's predicament would be an immediate counseling session with her, the pinkette, and the Uchiha once we got back to Konohagakure. I would relay this information to her once she walked in the door.

Though, when the door was slammed open, I was not prepared for what I saw.

Yuki stood in between a tired Naruto and exhausted Sasuke. That wasn't what I thought was really "what the fuck happened" material. Yuki had her right arm around Naruto's shoulders and I caught onto her last words, being, "And when I checked, the kunai was _in _my ramen, I tell you." That was unusual, but not the eye-opener.

The eye-opener was that Yuki had her left arm around _Sasuke's _shoulders. He looked a little uncomfortable being in the position, but made no movements to get out of it. Instead, he had both his hands stuffed in his pockets and was listening intently to Yuki's story about kunai and ramen. What. The. Fuck.

Sakura's eyes popped out of their sockets, particularly because of two certain people who had just walked in. She hopped in to stand in front of Yuki, and in turn stopped Naruto and Sasuke from continuing any further into the room.

"What are you doing to my Sasuke-kun?" She pointed at the arm that Yuki had draped around Sasuke.

"Um, nothing?" Yuki moved her arms from around both of the genin to place them at her sides. Naruto looked a little disappointed from the lack of warmth around his neck, but turned his attention back to the little scene playing in front of him. Sasuke was rolling his shoulders back and forth, as if they'd been stiff the whole time. Either Yuki had an abnormal left arm that weighed a bitchload, or she'd left it wrapped around Sasuke for quite an amount of time. I needed answers.

A look from Sakura showed that she wanted a real answer.

"I was just telling them about a time I was eating ramen and found a kunai in it. It's a crazy story. Do you wanna hear it…?Er, I guess not?"

Sakura's veins on her forehead looked about ready to pop just as she heard Yuki's "preposterous excuse".

"Ramen…and kunai? You're lying-"

"Everyone." Kakashi had walked in, noticing the tense atmosphere, and stood next to the fuming Sakura and an anxious Yuki. He rubbed Yuki's head roughly, messing up her hair, and rested a hand on Sakura's shoulder. He'd removed his hand immediately from the dark-haired genin when he saw her flustered expression. A little turn to his right revealed a raging Sakura that he quickly moved his hand off. "Don't know what happened here but...dinner's ready. Let's eat."

Dinner? Already? I sniffed and inhaled the scent of homemade miso soup, fish, and bread. Crap, we'd all been so on edge from that short showdown involving Sakura and Yuki, that we didn't notice the food. I would ask Yuki what had happened between her and Sasuke in due time. Hell no, I wasn't going to let that slide.

Tazuna was already at his seat at the head of the table. Inari stared and almost looked happy at the variety of food that he probably rarely saw. He sat closer to his grandpa on the right side of the table. Naruto took Yuki's arm and dragged her to the middle seat on the left side of the table. She sat down, and he took his seat to her right. Sasuke shuffled his feet across the floor and took a seat across from Naruto. I followed the Uchiha to my seat opposite Yuki.

I gave her a glance, looked over to Sasuke, then back at her with my "what in the fuck just happened" face. She laughed and mouthed "I'll tell you later". Fine. At least I knew I was going to get my answers.

Sakura turned and found only two spots left; one to the left of Yuki and the other at the end of the table, facing Tazuna. She stomped over to the only liable seat she would take; at the end of the table. Naruto looked delighted that his crush decided to sit closer to him and sent her a greeting that she promptly ignored.

Kakashi, seeing that everyone was ready, took the last remaining seat.

**A/N: I'm sorry, this is quite a boring chapter. It's mostly just getting into Team 7 bonding and stuff like that, and will be for the next few chapters. Yuki has literally screwed up her relationship with three Team 7 members, so it's time for some much needed reconciliation. And, prepare for some...batshit craziness next chapter, which I have to say, was pretty damn fun to write. Please review and follow if you haven't already. Thank you!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of its characters, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Though, we do own our OCs.**

**Chapter 13: Team 7 ****Reconciliation: Success!**

**Sayuri**

It was five minutes into the meal and everyone was calmly talking and eating, save for two boys that were literally stuffing food into their mouth. Naruto was busy multitasking, chowing down on his fish and slurping down the remainder of his miso soup. Sasuke alternated between his bread and rice, chomping furiously down on his loaf of bread and shoveling abnormal amounts of rice down his throat.

Yuki and I had been warning them with every mouthful that they should slow down or they would have an accident; a messy accident. Obviously, both genin paid us no attention, being too determined to out-eat the other.

"Seconds, please!" The blonde and navy haired genin jumped up and requested in unison. A spark seemed to ignite from their eyes, the competitiveness showing. Both sat their asses down again, a sick expression on their faces as they clamped a hand over their mouths. Oh, hell no.

Sasuke was up first, regurgitating his soup onto the plate of bread and fish and himself, then turning to the right to throw up on the floor. But, unfortunately, he forgot a minor detail.

He forgot that A CERTAIN SOMEONE WAS SITTING THERE. I shot up in panic to avoid Sasuke's blast of half-digested food but it was too late. He ended up projectile vomiting all over my clothes, my lilac top, my obi, and little splatters coated the hilt of my katana. Oh, no he did not…just throw up on me.

Yuki's eyes flashed, registering that Naruto was up next and flew out of her seat to land on Kakashi's lap, who let out a surprised grunt. Naruto proceeded to hurl, barfing into Yuki's bowl of soup, what was her seat, his own lap, and onto the floor.

"If you two are going to barf, don't eat!" Sakura screamed, jumping out of her seat and splaying her hands on the table.

"No, I'll eat." Sasuke composed himself and coughed out a small piece of bread INTO MY FACE. Then he sat back downin his seat as if nothing had gone wrong. I suddenly felt the strong urge to slap him in the face. My head was down and I gripped the clean part of the hem of my top, knuckles turning white from the pressure.

"I'll eat, even if I have to force myself to… I need to become strong quickly," Naruto declared, wiping away the remains of food from his face. Uh hello? Anyone there? I'm covered with barf from the Uchiha bastard and nobody gives a shit! I remained still in my seat, afraid to move with the vile substance all over me and my face red with anger.

"Hm. It won't be any good if you two just barf it all up." Kakashi contradicted the two, lifting his head up an inch so that his eyes were visible over the top of Yuki's head.

"I agree with Kakashi. You two aren't going to eat any more." I got up from my feet, everyone finally realizing for damn sake that I had Sasuke's partially digested food all over me.

Naruto attempted to explain himself. "Ehh…sorry about that Sayu! But it's not my fault that the teme barfed all over you!"

"Tch. Usuratonkachi. It's not my fault that you sat there." Sasuke spat back. Wait a second! Who was he calling an idiot? Me or Naruto? Agh. Who gives a fuck anymore. Time to teach these two a little lesson called 'Don't Mess With Kimura Sayuri Or She Messes With You'.

I yanked the Uchiha up by the collar, stomped over to the other side while dragging him along, and then grabbed Naruto by the arm.

"Aw! Lemme go, please Sayu. I'm not gonna barf anymore!" Naruto whined, struggling to get his arm out of my grasp. Sasuke gripped my arm tightly with his two hands, attempting to pry my fingers off his shirt.

"I'm not so sure about that. You two could be seconds away from another round of projectile vomiting. Besides…" I glanced over to Yuki, who was still in the same place she'd retreated to to avoid Naruto's accident. "You've scared Yuki enough that she jumped onto Kakashi-sensei's lap. Wouldn't want anymore of that. Let's go, you two." Sasuke and Naruto weren't having any of it and both grabbed at my arms as I struggled with the two stubborn ninja.

As I practically abused the boys into submission, I saw Yuki jump out of Kakashi's lap, knocking him clear in the head. She was bright red and kept uttering "sorry". The jounin accepted her apology, grabbed an empty bowl from off the table, and then offered her some of his soup, which was puke-free.

"Yeah, if you don't mind," Yuki muttered, still a little flustered from where…or rather who she had been sitting on a few seconds ago. I understood that. Hey, I would be embarrassed too if it happened to me. What I didn't understand was that Yuki was _still_ embarrassed. Usually, in a situation similar to this, she would've just laughed it off and moved on. Yet, now she was still in distress about it. Why, I wonder? I had a feeling… And if this feeling was correct…oh my god, I wouldn't know what to feel, really. Back to reality...

Kakashi poured some of his meal into the wooden bowl and then handed it to Yuki, who greedily took it. She grabbed a spoon from the table and began digging in. The silver-haired nin noticed that she had been standing the whole time and a small glint flashed in his eye.

"Yuki, since there's no available seats that don't have Naruto's or Sasuke's regurgitated food on them, would you want to sit on my lap again? You seemed pretty comfortable there earlier."

Yuki just about choked on her soup, a second or two passing before she could speak again. Everyone else present at the table remained calm, though Sakura looked a bit surprised from Kakashi's suggestive comment.

"WHA-WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Yuki finally got around to asking.

Kakashi laughed, stated that he'd just been kidding and offered her some of his bread, which she took and promptly shoved into her mouth. He got up and let her sit in his seat, while he continued eating leaning against the wall. Everything settled after that, save for Yuki's abnormally crimson red face. Naruto stood, doubled over with my grasp still tightened around his wrist, probably stopping his blood flow, while Sasuke threatened to use his fire jutsu on me, which I disregarded with a glare.

Okay, time to deal with these two now…

* * *

I'd dragged and thrown the Uchiha and Uzumaki into the tub and then turned the knob over to cold, which earned me very ear-piercing shrieks from Naruto and a shout of surprise from Sasuke. I was so pissed I ended up pulling the knob out of its place in the wall and tossing it aside. Of course, they'd tried to get up, but I just slammed them back down.

They ended up settling in the tub, legs and arms crossed with scowls present on their faces. This went on for a straight five minutes, while I squeezed numerous random bath products onto them and forced them to scrub.

"Scrub your damn hair," I ordered, having just poured half a bottle of shampoo onto both of their heads. Naruto obediently complied while Sasuke sat still, unwilling to follow orders. "Or else you won't _have_ anymore hair," I threatened, hand reaching back for my katana. I'm sure I made myself clear because with a "tch", Sasuke reached up to massage the cream into his hair.

Naruto started to shiver like a wet dog, and Sasuke was developing goosebumps on his legs and arms, not looking very pleased with his hair slicked down in his face. Feeling satisfied, I turned off the shower after reinstalling the knob and the boys sighed in relief.

I let out Naruto with a "sorry, but it had to be done", and handed him a towel. He walked off, drying his hair and squeezing the water out of his jumpsuit. Hopefully, he didn't hate me after this. Maybe Yuki would be able to soften him up for me, if he gave me the cold shoulder. Get it? _Cold _shoulder? Okay, I admit it. Bad pun.

Sasuke waited until Naruto was out the door before getting up off the wet tub floor. He stepped out of the bathtub, squeezed his hair dry and completely ignored his clothes before grabbing a clean towel off the rack, rubbing his hair dry. During all this, I stood near the sink, watching curiously at how he would react. Once he was done, he raised his head up to meet my gaze.

He was, quite literally, glaring daggers at me. Though, I couldn't really take him seriously in the state that he was in at that current moment. I giggled softly, which only fueled his hatred even further.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke, but really, you guys were covered in your own vomit. Don't hate me for this. Go change, you're making even more a mess now."

"Hmph, we could've just showered separately and alone. I didn't need your help washing." He wringed as much water as he could out of his shirt and and shorts before wrapping the towel around his neck. He seemed to have calmed down and his glare changed into his usual blank face.

"Who said I was trying to help you? I was being efficient and killing two birds with one stone. Besides, it was a spur of the moment thing; I was so pissed, I just tossed you guys in here," I stated matter-of-factly.

"Hn, move. I need to go change," he curtly stated. I stepped out of his path and he made his way into the hallway towards his bedroom, leaving a trail of soggy shoeprints along the way. Well, looks like I gotta shower now. I slowly glanced down at my clothes, dry vomit in splotches on my nice top. Ew, disgusting.

I grabbed some fresh clothes from my room and hurried into the shower, wanting to rid myself of this stink and to scrub myself until my skin was raw. Looks like I'll be skipping the remainder of the dinner, or at least, whatever food that wasn't covered in Naruto and Sasuke vomit.

Great, not only has Sasuke ruined my clothes, but he's ruined my appetite.

* * *

**Yukiko**

After we had all finished our meal and the dishes were cleared, Naruto and Sasuke had both returned, freshly washed and dressed in clean clothes. Sayu was still nowhere to be seen, probably taking a shower at the moment. Tsunami served us all after-meal tea and we relaxed in our seats, Naruto and Sasuke both sitting back in their original chairs, which were unfortunately wiped clean by a fuming Sakura.

"Um, why are you hanging a torn picture? It seems whoever did this did it purposely. Inari was looking over at this all throughout dinner," Sakura questioned. Tsunami, Tazuna, and Inari tensed up, not feeling entirely comfortable on the subject of Inari's father.

"He's my husband," Tsunami stated, back turned away from us as she cleaned the dishes.

"He was the hero of this town," Tazuna murmured, clearly out of it. Inari took this as his cue to leave, getting up out of his seat and leaving without a word.

"Where are you going, Inari?" Tsunami chased after him as soon as the door slammed shut. "Father, I told you not to talk about him in front of Inari!"

"What's wrong with him?" Sakura seemed worried for the young boy as she looked expectantly over at Tazuna.

And that's what triggered an incredibly long, melodramatic soap opera-ish, totally-wouldn't-happen in real life, tale of Inari's father, the hero who saved the town. Sayu was lucky she was missing the whole thing. The story hadn't even started and Tazuna was breaking into tears.

I was finding myself drifting off as Tazuna concluded his story. Naruto rose from his sitting position and took a shaky step forward, only to end up flat on the ground from exhaustion of chakra.

"You can't go train now. You've used too much chakra. You're going to die if you keep going," Kakashi duly noted, remaining still at his seat.

"I'm going to prove it to him," Naruto started to steadily make his way up off the floor. "I'll prove to him that there is such as thing as heroes in this world."

Then, he face planted back onto the floor. Kakashi was still unable to move much, but he had gained enough of his strength back to be able to walk around without his crutches for a short period. Nevertheless, he asked Sasuke to drag off Naruto to his room, which he did unwillingly. He then briefed us that it'd been a long day.

Well, no shit. First, exhausting chakra training. Then, Sayu gets fucking mad at me and storms off. Next, I by some miracle am able to make up with Sasuke and have some bonding time with him and Naruto with my "Ramen and Kunai" story, a true story, if I may add. After that, the Sakura incident, the barf, and to make things worse…THE KAKASHI INCIDENT. Never have I been so humiliated in my life. Goddamn, I really needed to knock myself out right now. I was f-ing exhausted.

Kakashi finished off with telling us to all get some shut eye and that we'd continue training tomorrow and we all excused ourselves from the table.

* * *

I made my way through the hallway to the temporary bedroom Sayu and I were sharing during our stay. The pitter-patter of my feet echoed through the empty hall until finally I arrived at our room and cracked open the door. The room itself was fairly clean and simple, with two futon set out and our baggage set next to a single oak dresser. There was a small window set in the middle of the back wall with a small writing desk below it. I sat my ass down on my futon and Sayu, having finished showering, sat on the left side of the room where her futon was. She looked like she had been waiting for me as she had her legs crossed and hands folded in her lap.

"So, Yuki, about before, you promised you would tell me what happened. Specifically, why Sasuke and you suddenly became "best buddies" and just made up all of a sudden." Sayu got straight to the point; I'm guessing she had been waiting to question me on what happened. She cast me a wary glance, almost like she was somewhat annoyed about the situation.

"Well, it's kinda a long story, but I guess you wanna hear it anyway." She nodded in agreement and I got to it, explaining in detail exactly what had gone down that afternoon in the forest.

* * *

"Come on, Naruto! Don't you dare lose to Sasuke!" I hollered down from my perch up on the branch. For the past hour and a half, I had been shouting motivating comments to Naruto, which seemed to be helping just a slight bit. Though, Sasuke always found a way to pull further ahead whenever Naruto seemed to inch a bit closer.

It'd been an hour since Sayu had left to sort out her thoughts, or whatever she was doing at the moment. For all I knew, she could've been stuffing her mouth with food right now, not giving a shit what I did. I'm hoping for the latter. Regardless, the passing minutes have allowed me to reflect on my actions, something I rarely did. Okay, I _was_ feeling a bit guilty…

As I was saying, my thoughts have led me to three conclusions.

One: Sakura, Sasuke, and now Sayu hated me. For all I knew from Kakashi's wide range of emotions (note the sarcasm please), he was probably mad at me, too. So, only person I had on my side now was Naruto, and although I love the blonde genin to death… it'd be nice to have everyone else's trust, too.

Two: If we ever got into a life or death situation...which was about to happen, I would be fucked. If I recollect correctly, the last battle with Haku and Zabuza was to be coming up in a few days. Anyhow, if the situation did happen to take place, to no doubt it would be, I wasn't sure if there was really much of a chance of me being alive against dead with all these people and their negative feelings towards me. Maybe they would protect me, I am part of the team after all, but then again, you never really know someone entirely.

Three: I had to get my shit together and start repairing these bonds. Sasuke shall be up first, since he's the closest within my proximity. Resolving things with him should chill down Sayu enough that she would talk to me. Kakashi would be next, and I knew just the thing that would make him carefree and cheerful; just enough to accept my apology if he required one. Last on the list was Sakura. I still hadn't figured anything out yet, but it will come to me in due time.

Now, how do I make up with the one and only great Uchiha Sasuke. Hm, it has to be something good. He's not going to accept something like a measly apology, besides I wouldn't know what to say anyway. It has to be something that has a purpose. Something that would work out to the benefit of the team.

WAIT! That last sentence… Work and team…teamwork! The idea of it would surely work against the Uchiha. After all, Kakashi _had_ emphasized the importance of it many times before. And, if Sasuke and I are angry at each other, it would definitely interfere with this teamwork. Shit, this may work… No other way to know unless I try it out.

The duck-butt was apparently having a conversation with Naruto. Naruto had replied to Sasuke, making the dark-haired genin's face turn into one of hilarious disbelief.

A cold breeze shot out of nowhere, giving me shivers and a case of goosebumps. It's getting late as heck. We need to leave. Now.

"Sasuke! Naruto! Let's go back for dinner! It's getting late anyway! Good progress Naruto…er and Sasuke!" I shouted down to the boys, and started to casually walk down from my branch on a tree.

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, skeptic that myself of all people had praised him. Naruto ran up to me to suffocate me in a big, sweaty bear hug, that I returned enthusiastically nonetheless.

"Um, Naruto, I need to talk to Sasuke about something before we leave. Do you mind waiting over there while I talk to him?" I pulled out of our hug, and started to ruffle Naruto's hair.

"Yeah. I guess…" He seemed a little disappointed about being left out of my soon-to-be conversation with his enemy. My hand was removed from his head as he walked over to a tree at the edge of the clearing and settled down to have a short nap.

Sasuke still stood in the spot he was in before with his hands casually shoved in his pockets, part of his usual emo posture and demeanor. He raised an eyebrow, probably catching onto some parts and his own name from my short talk with Naruto.

I'd tried walking over looking badass, though I'm sure I looked like a nervous wreck from the face Sasuke shot me. Was I scared of him? No. Was I scared whether or not he would accept my offer? No, actually, yes, but that's not my problem here. My problem was that I was never the person who made compromises or made up with the opposing team. Usually that was Sayu's job. Let's just hope to whoever's listening that I say the right things…

"Hey, Sasuke. Mind if I have a word with you?" I walked up really close to the Uchiha, leaving a few feet in between us.

No reply.

"I don't even know if you heard me, or if you're going to be listening to what I need to talk to you about, so an answer would be nice?"

"...Hn." Sasuke's eyes moved to make contact with mine, his flashing with the smallest hint of interest.

"Guess I got your attention now…?" Sasuke gave a small nod as confirmation. "All right! So, you know about all those times I kinda messed with you like with the bell test and then when I kinda pulled you into the water?"

The briefest spark of anger flashed in his eyes at being reminded of our latest incident, before it disappeared into his usual stoic nature. He gave another nod.

"You see, I got to thinking while you and Naruto were practicing…" Sasuke tilted his head upwards an inch, waiting to hear more of what I had to say. [Insert long speech where I try to sound smart and hopefully Sasuke understands what the heck I'm saying.] "Eh. Okay. I was thinking that we need to get rid of these feelings of anger we have against each other, because it will only hinder us in future fights and our teamwork." His eyebrows raised a notch, and he appeared a bit perplexed, having not expected me to even bring that up.

I took a deep breath. Okay, going good so far. "Say, we have a fight with Zabuza again. If we are still mad at each other, we may argue on strategies, movements, etc. That could end up with someone else on this team or either of us getting injured or possibly dead. But, if we put aside our...differences to say, and make up, it would make a major difference between a life or death situation. Who knows, maybe later we might work together and kick some serious butt. What I'm trying to say is, like what Kakashi has always been telling us, on a team, teamwork is key. And, I think that at our current state, our teamwork is clearly severed and I want to fix that. So, let's make amends. What do you say du-Sasuke? Friends?"

I stretched my right arm out in a handshake, waiting for his to meet mine and agree with me. Please. I had just made a long ass speech about teamwork that Kakashi would give two major thumbs up to.

Answering my prayers, Sasuke reached out his right hand and shook mine.

Did that just happen? Did I just get the duck-butt, emo king, rich boy, Uchiha Sasuke to make up with silly old me?

Yes, you did, idiot.

To put it into simpler words, I was on damn, hallelujah Cloud 9 at that moment. I didn't even comprehend my next actions, thinking that I would deal with any consequences later.

With Sasuke's hand still in mine, I pulled his into my tight grip and dragged a stunned Sasuke over to Naruto's sleeping figure. I let go of him as I leaned down to try to wake up Naruto, who was snoring soundly in his curled up position.

"NARUTO! IT'S TIME TO GET UP!" I shouted loudly into his right ear. Not even one stir from the deep-in-sleep genin. Sasuke had slammed his palms over his ears, trying to protect what hearing he had left before I busted his eardrums.

"Um, let's see…," What would wake up a Naruto from his evening nap in the forest? Food, that was what. "NARUTO! WE'RE GOING TO GO GET RAMEN FROM ICHIRAKU RIGHT NOW! GET UP OR WE ARE GOING TO LEAVE YOU BEHIND!"

"Heh. Ramen…," Naruto drawled out deliriously, now starting to drool.

"Damn that didn't work either…" I continued to stare at Naruto and contemplated what to do next.

"Move. I'll get him up," Sasuke ordered from behind me.

"Woah. An 'excuse me Miss Namikaze' would've worked too, Sasuke." I moved over to the side, still in view of Naruto. I didn't intend to miss out on what Sasuke was planning to do to the poor, yet cute idiot.

Sasuke made no reaction to my comment, moving up to tower over Naruto.

"Wake up, usuratonkachi." Sasuke placed his right hand in front of Naruto's face, and put together his thumb and index finger. Then, he flicked Naruto square in the forehead.

"Huh? What?!" Naruto's azure eyes widened, now alert and trying to find who had disturbed his dreams about ramen. The only person he found, who also happened to be leaning over him, was an, or rather, _the_ Uchiha. "What'd you do that for, teme?" Naruto got up indignantly, ready to confront Sasuke as to why he had assaulted him.

"Tch. You weren't waking up, that's why dobe. Even Yuki shouted into your ear, twice," Sasuke replied nonchalantly, knowing he'd done nothing wrong, according to his own morals.

"Oh…sorry," Naruto's face turned to its neutral state, then morphed back to its previous angry state. "Hey! You still didn't need to do that-"

"Naruto. Sasuke. I'm really hungry. Let's go eat something!" I stated cheerfully, grabbing the attention of both boys.

Naruto forgot all about Sasuke at the mention of food and replied with a hearty "yeah!", Sasuke with his usual "hn."

I started to walk back, with Naruto on my right and Sasuke on my left. As previously stated, I was in such a good mood, I didn't even know what was happening half of the time. One minute, my hands are hanging behind my back innocently and the next, my left arm's around Sasuke and my right arm around Naruto.

Naruto made no reaction, having been in the position with me numerous times before, being the best of friends and all, yada yada yada. Sasuke, however was beyond overwhelmed, though he kept walking on like normal. His shoulders had stiffened from the sudden human body contact, but gradually relaxed over time. And, to add onto this miracle of Kami, he made no movements to move my arm from around him, or get out of the position. Crap, I could not believe I had achieved this with Uchiha Sasuke. I need to mentally record Sayu's expression when she sees us.

"Hey, do you guys wanna hear a real story about ramen and kunai? It actually happened, I tell you," I questioned both boys, filling in the silence that had ensued after Naruto had ran out of things to babble on about.

"Eh? Ramen?" Naruto had immediately perked up from the mention of his favorite food. "Yeah! Please, Yuki?"

"Haha, okay. How 'bout you Sasuke?" I whisked my eyes over to the left, waiting for a reply.

"Hn. Sure." Sasuke made short eye contact with me before looking again at the road ahead.

"Yay! So, it all started when I went to Ichiraku to buy ramen and…"

Throughout the story and until we reached Tazuna's house, Naruto added in his own comments, mostly about the ramen, asking me if it was good, although he'd already had the dish about a million times in his life. Sasuke just raised his eyebrows or gave a "hn" at parts he found interesting or plain weird.

I was enjoying this time with my best friend, Naruto. And, not only with Naruto but also with my friend, yes, friend, Sasuke. Never thought I would be calling him that. At the rate that this was going, we would be all cheery and happy, making flower crowns for each other by tomorrow morning.

In all seriousness though, I'd gotten even closer with Naruto, finding out about some of his other interests, not including the additional details I'd learned of his undying love for ramen. As well as that, I'd gotten to bond with Sasuke and learn that there was more beyond his usual stoic expression. Beyond that face was a person with a deep passion to kill his own brother, but also his own dreams and aspirations, likes and dislikes, even though he clearly stated he'd had none.

Holy fuck, it's been a **good** day! Did I forget to mention that it'd been the very first time Sasuke had said my name? To add to that, no, not my full name. He'd said my nickname for fuck's sake!

Holy shit fuck, it has not been a good day, it's been a **great** day!

**A/N: Ehhh, boring ass chapter. Sorry I haven't updated in SO long. I'm on a four day weekend so I had time to update today. Anyway, I only have ONE chapter left that's typed up, and I don't know if I'm going to continue after that. I actually don't know what to do. I'd like to continue, but then again, I don't know if I could. The future storyline I have planned is actually REALLY complicated and AU, and I only have bits and pieces completely thought out. Also, ChitekinaKitsune has kinda lost interest in Naruto, so I'd have to continue on myself, which could be a little challenging for a beginning writer like me.**

**See, this is the problem with canon-based fanfictions. I have to match up with the events of the series, while not making it completely boring for those of you who don't want a recap of the entire show. ****I'm probably going to take a break from updating after the next to see what you guys think and to sort out my thoughts and ideas for the story. So yeah, it's probable I won't be continuing this story for much longer. But, it all depends on you guys and your support, so we'll see when we get there. I guess I'll see you guys in the next chapter, the final chapter of this little test-run. See ya guys!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or any of its characters, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. Though, we do own our OCs.**

**Chapter 14: Late Night Antics**

**Yukiko**

I breathed out in relief, having gotten the lengthy story all out, Sayu listening intently throughout without a single question or comment raised. She seemed pretty content with what I'd told her, nodding in satisfaction every time I said something she thought to be interesting.

"You should've seen your face when I walked in though. Totally hilarious." I chuckled at the memory of Sayu's very horrified, very confused face.

"I mean, can you blame me? You just strolled in with your arms around Sasuke and Naruto like some sort of maneater." I gasped in fake hurt at the insult and placed a hand over my heart.

"I am offended, Sayu. Besides, they were totally fine with it, so no harm done."

"So, you guys completely made up?"

"Well, I wouldn't say completely yet since this a new thing, but pretty much not enemies anymore."

"It's a step forward. Now, for the other two." That's what has me worried. "How exactly will you make up with Sakura? I mean, you know how she can be."

"Well, ya know, she's like a zoo animal. A little poking, a little prodding, some bribing; I'm sure she'll be over all of it in a little bit." I think I heard a soft sneeze coming suspiciously from Sakura's room. Sayu gave me a weird face. "Calm down, I was kidding. I'm gonna patch things up with her in a...humane way. Promise." She didn't seem to believe me fully, but she would see soon on. I've got a plan.

"I'm trusting you with this. You better not make her any more angry. I don't know if you noticed the small fact that she was about to rip your face off when you walked in with her crush." She implored, crossing her arms and starting to tap her feet on the floor in a rhythmic tune.

"Hey! Not my problem she got a jealousy problem. All I had was an arm around his neck. I'm not pressing our heads together or holding hands. Now that I think about it, maybe I should try that… Not every time of course. Crap… It'd be worth a try, though. Heh. Wonder how he would react…"

"Yuki…you better not. Especially not in front of Sakura or..." My best friend halted, pausing her tapping for a brief time before starting up again.

"Haha. Chill out. I'm only going to do it once, ever. Or, maybe another time if his reaction is fucking hilarious."

"...I'm warning you. Don't even continue to think about it," Sayu growled out, stopping her tune-making entirely.

"Eh? Don't you worry your little head, only once-" I barely had enough time to react before Sayu reached down to grab her katana and unsheathed it, aiming the tip at my neck. Holy crap.

"I told you. You better not do it. You were lucky to even make up with Sasuke, become friends even. Doing that might sever that friendship, not to mention give the pinkette an everlasting grudge against you."

"I get it. I get it. Okay? Now can you put that very shiny, very dangerous object away and out of my face?" I backed away as Sayu placed her katana back into its sheath.

"Hm. And Kakashi?"

"Yeah, I got that figured out, too. Good plan, if I may add."

"Well, thats nice to hear. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Sayu pulled up the covers of her futon, slipping into them swiftly, and then laid her head down on her pillow.

Now that that's over with… I flipped the light switch and stepped over to my futon, pulling the blanket over myself.

"NIGHT EVERYONE!" I shouted out into the dark. Naruto's loud "night" was heard in the room to my right, and in the distance, Sakura's faint one, Sayu's "night, baka", Kakashi's "sleep well", and Sasuke's "hn".

Darkness soon claimed me, pulling me into its lightless arms.

* * *

Two days have passed ever since we had arrived at Tazuna's house. There hasn't been a good enough opportunity to set in my plan for Kakashi, but he didn't seem to hate me. That was good. I still haven't fully thought up of a way to make up with Sakura, though I have started to be nicer to her.

Kakashi stopped Sayu and I from going with Naruto and Sasuke, stating that they were capable of practicing on their own. Instead, he'd sent us along with Sakura to watch Tazuna build a bridge. Oh, the fun that was. It wasn't really welcoming by the fact that Sakura would glare at me whenever she got the chance. I'd tried sending her a cheerful smile, hoping to show her that I meant no harm in her hopeless love life. I presumed that she had took it the wrong way by thinking that I was taunting her, teasing her for being closer than her to Sasuke. How do I know this? I knew this because she began gritting her teeth together and the veins in her head popped out vividly. After that, I dropped the smile and decided the best thing to do would to ignore her glares. Eventually, she stopped and settled for staring over the surface of the water.

Over the course of days and nights, Naruto had started to practice overtime, rarely coming back in the morning, and if he did, only for a short meal before leaving again. Sasuke had settled for a regular practice schedule, with regular food and sleep schedule. Naruto had settled it with the whole team that he wanted to get more practice; to prove his words to Inari and surpass his arch-nemesis.

Overall, it's been such an uneventful few days. Hopefully something would happen soon.

* * *

I woke up to a growling stomach. Crap. I should've known that eating only that fish for dinner was a bad idea. I glanced over with hooded eyes at the dim alarm clock on the lone dresser in the room. The numbers flashed 2:42.

Crap, this is always a problem for me. Should I get up and go get a snack to eat, or just wait it out until the morning? I mean, I'm really hungry right now, but if I get up, I'd have to walk to the kitchen, open the fridge, look for something to eat, eat it, walk back, and then try to fall asleep again. That's a lot of work to do. Then again, if I don't eat, I might not be able to fall asleep anyway.

Ah, screw it. I'm gonna go get food to eat. I gently rolled the covers down my body and slid out, kneeling on the wooden floor before standing up slowly to not wake Sayu. The door was already slightly open and I silently slipped out of the room, down the hall, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. I decided to not turn on the lights and navigated my way through the dark kitchen with only touch and the dim moonlight pouring in through the windows to help. Until I heard a slight shuffling sound. My footsteps were paused, listening for anymore sounds.

The sound seemed to continue and the shuffling was soon replaced by what suspiciously sounded like a furious munching noise, like a rabid bear feasting on a bag of potato chips.

"Uh...who's there?" I hesitantly whispered towards the racket, hoping it wasn't an hostile intruder. If it was, I was very unprepared for a battle. Well, I got my fuzzy bear slippers; those will do.

"Rmrphg...mmm." The voice sounded muffled, from what I assumed to be the food. "It's me, Naruto." I immediately let out a sigh of relief. With my eyes now adjusted to the darkness, I made my way to the hazy figure standing in front of the cabinets next to the fridge.

"God, you had me worried for my life. You're barely returning? This late at night?" He once again stuffed his face with what I assumed to be...celery sticks?

"Not really returning. I'm just here for a snack and then heading back out to train, ya know?"

"Yeah…." Hm… If Naruto was here, may as well go with him and avoid a boring day of Tazuna watching. "Hey, Naruto?"

"Huh? What is it?" Naruto finished stuffing the rest of his meal into his mouth, chewing vigorously.

"Do you mind if I go with you and watch you train? I won't be any bother, I promise. You wouldn't say no to your bestest buddy ever in the world, would you?" I gave Naruto a pouty face with a touch of puppy dog eyes, hoping it would help to convince him.

Naruto didn't even hesitate in answering, trying to finish off the rest of his celery to reply. "Shure. Ya cahn ger witmeh," He choked out, swallowing any leftovers. He seemed delighted to finally have a companion that wasn't Sasuke while he practiced.

"YAY! Just let me leave a note for Kakashi," My back turned to him, feet dashing up the stairs, barely hearing Naruto's "okay", before he turned back to raid the fridge.

I ran to my room, starting to slow my steps, as to not wake a certain Kimura. Moonlight shone through the room, illuminating my surroundings. Okay, just gotta get some things to write this out. I got down to my knees and started to pull the handle of the desk drawer. It didn't budge. Another try, perhaps. One more tug changed nothing. Shit! Open you crap! I hectically yanked out the drawer, ending up halfway across the room. To be specific, I had my ass right next to Sayu's face.

...Crap! Did I wake her?

Her quiet breathing was still present, calming my nerves. Looking behind me, the Kimura was still asleep. Good thing, too. If she woke up with my ass near her face, she would beat the shit outta me.

Hm. Something's wrong… I checked my back pouch where I usually kept it, finding it to be missing. I quickly looked around in a panic, finding the orange book flipped open in a corner of the room. I walked over and picked it up. As I was about to put it back, an idea came to me.

Time to act out Phase 2 of Reconciling with Team 7.

I spent a few minutes trying to place back the drawer into the desk. After succeeding with that task, I got out a pencil and paper and started writing with the moon guiding me, letting me actually see what the heck I was writing.

_Hey, Kakashi-sensei! :)_

_I'm going with Naruto to watch him train and help him a bit, so I won't be able to help guard Tazuna later. Give Sayu my regards! She's going to be bored without me. Tell Sakura that I said hi. Make sure to remind Sasuke that he better practice more, because Naruto's probably gonna surpass him any moment now. Though, tell him good luck from me. Guess that's all. See you later!_

_P.S. With this, you may find something that you've been, to say, missing for some time now. __I kinda found it in the house under..._ _Okay. I admit it. I took it. I just hope you're not mad. I guess we can talk more about this later, when you see me._

_Your awesome student who is bestest friends with Naruto and Sayu, a lot more badass than a certain Uchiha, and cooler than Sakura,_

_Yuki _

I finished off the note with a small stick figure, which was supposed to be me, courtesy of my boss drawing skills. In placing back the pencil, I found a black marker that was in a dark corner of the drawer. Time to have some fun… I picked up the marker, taking my note and the orange book with me.

A little over ways, a sleeping Kimura was still, well, sleeping. I opened the cap off the marker and started my artwork. A big dark circle was drawn around the right eye, and a rather unsymmetrical star on the other eye. I drew a rather fabulous mustache under the nose, adding dots, meant to be freckles on the cheeks. And for the finishing touch… 'My Name is Sayuri' was scribbled in large letters across the forehead. Hehe, can't wait to see how she'll react when she looks in the mirror. I put back the marker in it's right place and headed out the door for Kakashi's room, which was downstairs.

Taking one step at a time, I found that Naruto was still digging in, now chugging a jug of orange juice. He looked over to me as I took my descent down the stairs. I put up a hand to show him that I would be finished in just a bit. He gave a shrug and began looking in the fridge again for something else to eat or drink.

I took a right that lead to a short hallway. Kakashi's room was the first to the left and I walked in. The sensei was sound asleep, his forehead protector set down to the right of his head. He was sleeping on his side, his back to me. I better hurry, don't want Naruto to stuff himself so much that he can't even get an inch up a tree.

I leaned over Kakashi's sleeping figure, placing Icha Icha Paradise, with the folded note on top, next to his Leaf headband. Out of nowhere, his body shifted so that his body was now facing me.

HOLY FUCK! Is he awake? Crap. If he is, I'm screwed.

I peeked a look over to the silver-haired Jounin, who was still sleeping soundly.

"Damn, scared me shitless," I whispered to myself, and backed away. I closed the door softly behind me as I made my way to the kitchen.

Little did I know that Kakashi was actually wide-awake (small case of insomnia), sitting up to read my note and then continuing where he had left off in his porn book, after I'd left his room.

**A/N: Hey guys! Holy crap it's been so long, so sorry! School has been taking a toll on me and there's literally no time for any fanfics or anything (which is horrible). This chapter is a filler and pretty much the reminder of what I have typed, which means the end of the "test run" of NaROM. I'm still on the fence about whether or not to continue this at all since it's not really generating too much attention. This story is now in my sole hands, ChitekinaKitsune having moved on from the "Naruto" phase of her life *shakes head*. If I were to continue, which I might, it'll have to be during Thanksgiving/winter break because there is NO time for me at all at this point in my life. So yeah, expect to see an update in about a month or something. For now, see ya guys later!**


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